Round 7 – Supercars Championship
SYDNEY, New South Wales – Round 7 of the 2024 Supercars Championship in Sydney presented a mixed weekend of racing for Red Bull Ampol Racing’s Will Brown, with the championship leader notching a podium finish in Sunday’s race.
Intent on rebounding after Townsville, Brown entered the round optimistic of a strong result, with the #87 Chevrolet Camaro LZ1 rolling out of the truck and ready to hit the track under the lights in Sydney.
The sole practice session on Friday would see Brown and the team work cohesively as they targeted comfort for both the driver and the car, with the low temperatures of Sydney providing a unique challenge for grip after dual events in the top end.
Once the 90-minute session concluded, Brown sat in P4 on the timesheets and shifted sights towards the following day’s qualifying sessions and races.
A consistent pair of top-ten results in both qualifying and the shootout saw Brown claim P8 in each session on Saturday, with a lack of rear grip not allowing the #87 to climb any further in the sessions.
Launching off the line under the Sydney lights for Race 15, Brown put his head down throughout the 51-lap encounter, doing all he could to dig his way into the cars ahead of him, with a hard-fought sixth-place finish as the end result.
Sunday arrived with blue skies and sunshine, which replaced the high winds and low temperatures of the day prior, presenting new conditions at the Sydney circuit for drivers and their crews to dissect.
Brown would again maximise the qualifying session as the car speed wasn’t quite there, claiming P7 in qualifying, and bettering that position under a clean shootout lap to start Race 16 in P6.
Launching off the line with a strong start, Brown rocketed around the outside of two cars entering turn two and found himself in fourth place by the opening lap. From there, a calculated and measured drive, combined with a great strategy from the team saw the #87 climb into P3, and notch solid points towards his championship.
“Today’s (Sunday) been a great day, it nearly feels like a win,” commented Brown. “We struggled at the start of the weekend a bit, but to get a podium today was awesome. We went with the one-stop alternate strategy and were able to bring it home in third. Overall, a really positive day, but I think we’ve got a bit to look into. It’s been two rounds that have been a little bit tough for us, but the biggest thing with this championship is you have to make your tough days as good as they can be, and I felt like we did that today. A good turnaround from yesterday. I felt like the car was completely different today so it’s awesome to see the boys be able to do that overnight and make such a big difference. I’m looking forward to Tasmania, can’t wait.”