The Bathurst race itself brought plenty of excitement as 2023 winner Broc Feeney stormed to the front on the run to the finish! Behind the wheel of Red Bull Ampol Racing, he fundamentally changed the game’s competitive landscape. As the race unfolded, most of the field made their first pit stop after 25 laps, setting the stage for intense strategic battles. At the other end of the order, Todd Hazelwood held his path despite not pitting yet after an impressive opening third of the race.
Hazelwood’s early run was outstanding, opening up a healthy lead over the advancing Mark Winterbottom who was quickly in second position. The race got off to a rocky start when on the initial grid, Brad Vaughan stalled his car. Vaughan tried to race on, but had a hard time shifting into second or fourth gear. It only got worse as Aaron Cameron sadly had a huge crash where he hit the wall. Fortunately, Cameron escaped without serious injury.
Race officials were quick to respond when they noticed the vehicle was stalled. They rolled it off the track just in time for the field to come back around for lap two. Commenting on the significance of these preliminary events, Neil Crompton said, “Gets away with it but that was just a really ordinary run.” As the drivers circumnavigated the mountain on their warm-up lap, there was a palpable tension in the air as the first raindrops started to fall.
After several laps of racing, Thomas Randle received a five-second time penalty from race control, further complicating his strategy in the race. Crompton underscored the major role that weather played. As he opened the day’s proceedings, he announced, “This is the story of the day, and this is what’s going to change the game here at Mount Panorama. With the sky promising to muck things up with some rain, drivers and teams were once again forced to play the hand of strategy.
So when Feeney took the lead in the race, his status as frontrunner represented a big turning point in this contested Republican primary. Those unpredictable strategy turns and weather twists will delight race fans all 500 miles. This will have fans on the edge of their seats as the drama plays out. Crompton couldn’t hide his disappointment of Vaughan’s bad luck either, commenting, “Disaster there for car No.14. What a heartbreaker.”
