The Supercars Drivers’ Championship Will Be Determined at the VAILO Adelaide 500

The Supercars Drivers’ championship will be determined at the VAILO Adelaide 500!

It’s down to just two drivers – and it’s a closer battle than many think.

 

The 2024 Supercars Drivers’ championship will go to Red Bull Ampol Racing – but exactly which driver wins it will be determined at the VAILO Adelaide 500.

For the second year in a row, the title fight will again be decided on Adelaide’s street circuit, with Will Brown leading the championship by 180 points over his teammate Broc Feeney heading into the final round.

A maximum of 300 points is up for grabs across the weekend, with 150 points awarded to the winner of each race, then fewer points awarded to each driver on a sliding scale, depending on where they finish.

If Feeney wins both races, Brown will need to finish in at least 14th place in both, or at least third in one race, to hold the trophy aloft in pit straight.

Despite Brown’s lead, however, a win is far from being a foregone conclusion.

STREET CIRCUITS BITE BROWN

Brown’s championship lead was reduced by 24 points at the penultimate round at the Gold Coast after he suffered a setback on the Saturday.

On that day, he crashed into one of the walls during qualifying. While he salvaged a top 10 race finish, the error proves he can struggle on a street circuit.

However, qualifying as well as finishing in second position on Sunday was a much more championship-winning performance.

“(I was) glad to get through (Gold Coast). I was nervous about getting a DNF (did not finish),” he said after the round.

“I needed to get some points over Broc – at the end of the day, he’s the main rival, he’s my teammate, he’s pushing hard.

“(I’ll) head into Adelaide and see what happens from there.”

Adelaide’s concrete walls – and especially those at Turn 8 – can cause a lot of damage to race cars very quickly and easily.

Another qualifying slip up for Brown on Saturday in Adelaide – or a DNF in the race – would make things very interesting final race on Sunday.

FEENEY FEELS GOOD

Feeney gained valuable points at the Gold Coast event by finishing third in both races.

But it was race wins he needed to really claw back the margin.

Winning at Adelaide is something he knows how to do, after taking the VAILO Adelaide 500 title in 2022.

If Brown falters, Feeney will be ready to pounce. With his track record, there’s a chance he could poach the championship.

“It’s a long shot going into Adelaide but we’re still in the hunt,” he said after the penultimate event.

“The pressure’s off now but we can go there, not really worry about the championship and focus on a couple of wins.

“Adelaide has been really good for me (in the past).”

MOSTERT AND WATERS WAIT IN THE WINGS

Chaz Mostert, from Mobil1 Optus Racing, and Cam Waters, from Monster Castrol Racing, are third and fourth in the championship standings respectively.

Both had dropped out of title contention by the end of the Gold Coast round, having not scored enough points to beat Brown – even if they did clean sweep the Adelaide event.

Both drivers, however, showed strong pace at the Gold Coast. Waters won the Saturday race and finished fourth on Sunday, while pitstop issues robbed Mostert of the chances of podium finishes.

With no need to play it safe at the Adelaide round, they will combine that pace and passion to taste champagne and won’t care if either of the Red Bull Ampol Racing Camaros are in the way of their Ford Mustangs.

Their influence on what happens on track may play a key role in who secures the championship.

Even minor damage caused to one of the Red Bull Ampol Racing cars in a scuffle for track position with a non-championship contender could be enough to ruin their race.

THE TEAMS CHAMPIONSHIP ALREADY IS WON

One championship already has been won, with Red Bull Ampol Racing returning to the top of the pack on the back of their two drivers’ superb performances in season 2024.

The team had secured enough points ahead of its nearest rival, Monster Castrol Racing, by the end of the Bathurst 1000 weekend to clinch the title.

It is the 12th Teams’ Championship it has won in the 21 years since it was created.