Brown Produces Strong Recovery Drives on the Gold Coast

Will Brown has qualified for the second round of the inaugural Supercars finals campaign in Sandown after two strong recovery drives on the Gold Coast.

Race 28: P5

Will topped the opening practice session in a statement of intent from the reigning champion, and he converted that pace to a comfortably top-10 qualification on Saturday. But disaster struck in the shootout when he found the barriers at the Beach chicane on his solo flying lap in a prang that left him 10th on the grid.

A strong launch from the middle of the pack was almost immediately undone by fellow finalist Kai Allen, who tipped him into a spin that dropped him to 23rd and last on lap 2, precipitating a forceful recovery deep into the top 10. A slick stop behind the safety car on lap 12 moved him up to 15th, from where he methodically picked his way forward to fifth before his final stop on lap 58. He rejoined the race 10th, but now with a tyre advantage relative to most of the drivers around him, he made quick work of his rise back to fifth to salvage what could have been a disastrous day for this title defence.

Race 29: P8

Qualifying proved challenging again on Sunday. After making it through to Q1, Will copped damage on his first lap, found the barriers with his second and had his third lap excluded for a kerb hop, leaving him 18th.

His race pace continued to be strong, however, with a great launch moving him up two places on the first lap and a bold opening six laps moving him to 11th and within reach of more significant points. He rose to fifth by his first stop on lap 27 and was 10th at the end of his short middle stint on lap 52, after which he rejoined 17th in the order, from where he rose to eighth at the chequered flag to comfortably progress to the second round of the finals in Sandown next month, keeping alive his championship defence.

“I thought we had a good shot at pole on Saturday, so obviously I was disappointed to crash out of the shootout, especially after I went purple in the first sector of the lap before the mistake. I’m really sorry to the guys and girls who gave me such a mega car, but thanks to them I got to the grid just one minute before pit lane closed — an awesome job by the team.

"We started strongly then got turned around on the first couple of laps and went straight to the back. I really thought maybe the best case scenario was finishing 15th or worse. To get back up to fifth has really helped us in the finals and repaid the team after the crash.

“Qualifying was disappointing again on Sunday. It’s been a thing all season, and we had to fight back in the race.

“We knew from earlier in the weekend that we were going in with a fast car, so it was just about getting on with it. I started the race in that middle pack area, which is always going to be dangerous around with the chicane and with the corners. Today was probably different because we had maybe some desperate guys out there trying to make the finals.

“We pushed on, moved up through and made up a few spots around the stops, which was good. The car felt good, and we ended up where we ended up, which was good enough to seal our ticket to Sandown, which is great.

“I dropped a few points in the championship, but I’m excited to be going to Sandown, where we won last year.”

Round 12 of the Supercars Championship takes place on 14–16 November with the Sandown 500 at Sandown Raceway in Melbourne.