Round 12 – Supercars Championship
Adelaide, South Australia – Red Bull Ampol Racing’s Will Brown has emphatically captured the Supercars Drivers Championship for 2024, piecing together a brilliant debut season for the team with consistent podium finishes as well as blistering pace earning him his maiden crown.
It was all to play for at the season’s final round in Adelaide, with teammate Broc Feeney the only other driver mathematically in contention for the series win. Despite the pressure, Brown arrived with his patented grin, remaining upbeat ahead of the championship decider.
Putting the number 87 Chevrolet Camaro into Saturday’s shootout, Brown rocketed to the fifth fastest time, which would see the Toowoomba native line up on the third row of the grid.
A clean start and an incident-free race were on the menu for Brown, who got off to a great launch, and methodically picked his way through the field as Feeney was up front. A critical pass just after the halfway mark into P3 sealed the championship, however, Brown then went after second place, making the move and earning the team a 1-2 finish.
That, combined with his stellar performance throughout this year’s season, was enough to clinch the 2024 Supercars Championship.
Despite the accolades, another 78-lap encounter was on the cards for Sunday, with Brown and the Red Bull Ampol Racing team gearing up for the final day of school for 2024. Another solid qualifying session earned Brown P5, with his shootout lap seeing him take off for Race 24 in P4.
It was all systems go as the green flag flew for Race 24, with Brown getting off to a solid start that would see him in third place on the opening lap. Holding position and moving forward early, a melee between the front two drivers ended with Brown being spun, and being sent back down the order.
Following a valiant fight through the field, the #87 would remarkably climb back into the race lead after 78 laps, and put an exclamation mark on his 2024 campaign.
“I don’t think the achievements have sunk in yet! Right now I don’t know how to take it – it’s really, really exciting. This has been something myself and my family have been working towards for a long time now and to join Red Bull Ampol Racing this year and win with them in my first year is fantastic. I just want to thank everyone in the team who has done a faultless job all year – that’s why we’re in this position. I also want to thank my teammate, Broc. I turn up every weekend thinking he’s going to beat me, so I have to turn up and compete as best as I can and make sure we’re fast. That’s why I think we’re both up here being one-two in the championship. I’ve also loved working with Andrew (Edwards) this year. He’s a super smart guy and we worked so closely in the off-season to get to where we are today and made me step up to another level. This is such a surreal feeling, I’ll need the off-season to fully let it sink in.