Supercars rookie Broc Feeney says "everyone is still talking about it" but he has put his maiden win in the final race of last season behind him, declaring it will count for little when the drivers hit the track in Newcastle for the 2023 championship opener.
The Red Bull Ampol Racing driver, who this week completed further testing for Supercars in the new Gen 3-era cars, spoke to the Newcastle Herald about his 2023 ambitions six weeks out from the Newcastle 500, which returns after a three-year hiatus on March 10-12.
Feeney said his inaugural victory at Adelaide in December, the last-ever race featuring Holden, had been a dream come true in his first season as a full-time driver.
"The whole year, I didn't speak about it but I wanted to get a win under my belt. That was the goal," he said.
"I certainly left it late but it was awesome to get the experience leading laps and under pressure from Chaz [Mostert], and to show myself I am capable of doing it.
"It's going to give me more confidence heading into the year. I've always backed myself but it's always good when you can get a win."
Feeney, who at just 20 years of age is driving for the category's best race team and finished sixth in last year's championship standings, can't wait to try and improve on his maiden campaign.
"We got that win last year but now everyone is on zero again and we've got to try and do it again," he said.
'[The win] gives me extra motivation. Everyone is still talking about it to me, but for now it doesn't matter.
"We certainly ended the right way, we've just to work towards doing it more often."
Feeney, of the Gold Coast, will begin his second season on the streets of Newcastle, a track he has only raced on once in the Toyota 86 Series as a 16-year-old back in 2018.
Along with every other driver on the Supercars grid, he has the added the challenge of being behind the wheel of the new Gen 3 cars, which have been designed to make the racing closer.
"I'm excited to go back, it's a wild tack and what a place to open the year," Feeney, the teammate of 2022 Supercars champion Shane van Gisbergen, said.
"The first race of the year is always difficult, but when you've got to learn a new car as well, it's going to be hard.
"Not just for us, but everyone in the field."
