Schumacher/Feeney thrilled by early win

Brad Schumacher has ambitions on chasing the GT World Challenge Australia crown in 2025 and he enjoyed a great start with Broc Feeney by his side.

Schumacher and Feeney were fast throughout the opening SpeedSeries round at Phillip Island and heartbreak on Saturday turned into jubilation on Sunday.

The Melbourne Performance Centre entry had no luck as they lost second on the final lap due to a puncture.

Feeney still crawled all the way from Miller Corner to the finish, but slumped to ninth.

However, nothing was stopping them from being victorious on Sunday where not even a late rain shower or a charging Liam Talbot could deny them this time.

The win was something of a shock for Feeney, who handed over to Schumacher in seventh, but the #888 emerged from the pits in second before Marc Risser was penalised from the lead.

“I was very surprised when I looked at the scoreboard and saw we were in second,” Feeney told Auto Action.

“I was the Am and struggling! To come out in second was great. We did tyres and a driver change so the team did an incredible job at nailing the pit stops.

“We have jumped a lot of cars in the pits on both days, which is hard when you are doing it to time.

“Then Brad did a great job to hold off Liam. It is great to get a win after we have been struggling quite a bit.”

For Schumacher, the opening round success was pivotal as he hopes to step up and challenge for the overall title in 2025.

“For us this season is all about maximising points and after Saturday’s result, we could not be happier,” he said.

“It was quite tricky to keep the car in line because rain and slick tyres don’t go together and I was not sure how hard he was pushing and fortunately we just made it.

“It was tough because I had Liam on my tail and I was not sure how hard he was pushing and I could not make a mistake.

“After Saturday it was just great to get the win and maximise the opportunity. Could not be happier.

“I would love to get the suit of three having won the Trophy and Am championship so now chasing the Pro Am.

“I have the best guys with me to do it and fingers crossed we can keep up the momentum.”

Sharing the #888 Audi will be Triple Eight teammates Feeney and Will Brown throughout the season.

Feeney enjoyed his time behind the wheel at the opener and admits they are still to determine who will jump on board for the next round at Sydney Motorsport Park.

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