It’s November 16, 2024, and in Adelaide, the final round of the Supercars season is about to get underway. Up near the front of the starting grid is Will Brown, the 26-year-old from Toowoomba who is about to embark on what is arguably the most important race of his career in Australian motorsports most prestigious series.
As championship leader, and with just the two races in Adelaide to complete, he is the favourite to take his maiden driver’s championship title. However, there’s a chance that, should things not go his way, then he could be pipped at the post by rival and Red Bull Ampol Racing teammate Broc Feeney. It’s all building up to be a pressure-filled Race One through Adelaide’s street circuit.
Fast forward a couple of hours and Will has taken second place – another podium position in a stellar season – and has claimed the championship. A day later he puts in an extraordinary performance to claim victory in a wild and incident-filled Race Two that saw him fall from third position to dead last before fighting his way back to claim the win.
As victor, Will adds to the celebrations after Race Two by completing a bonkers, tyre-ripping burnout for the fans before grasping the trophy, leaping onto the roof of his Chevy Camaro and holding his prize aloft in triumph. There’s a look of complete joy on his face… it’s every young racing fan’s dream come true, and Will Brown is living it.
Three weeks on from that incredible moment and Motor Trader has rocked up to the Cars Galore dealership in Toowoomba to catch up with Will who is back at his ‘day job’ selling cars at the family business. We are here to chat about his extraordinary season, how it feels to carry the title of Supercars Champion, and his journey from a young whiz-kid racing karts to the man who conquered the peak of Australian motorsport.
Taking that title is, Will says, a pretty special feeling, one that began to sink in the day after securing the championship and as he enjoyed those wild celebrations, but which has, three weeks later, still to settle in completely. “After day two was just an amazing moment,” he says. “I think I’ll remember that for the rest of my life, just standing on top the car… It was just a surreal moment. It takes a while to set in and I still don’t think it’s completely sunk in. You know, I’m back at work, and selling cars and doing all that – I’m not living on a beach or a tide! But it’s pretty cool.” Will’s motorsport story began in 2011 when, aged just 13, he began racing karts and immediately demonstrated exceptional skill. His success in securing numerous junior championships laid the foundation for a spectacular rise through the ranks and categories of motorsport.
In 2015, he transitioned to single-seater racing, competing in the inaugural CAMS Jayco Australian Formula 4 Championship with Team BRM. His potential for racing in the big shows was clearly showcased here – he won three of the 15 races that season, earning the Rookie of the Year title.
The following year was a banner one, with Will’s career gaining significant momentum. He clinched the Australian Formula 4 Championship and simultaneously dominated the Toyota 86 Racing Series, securing both titles in 2016 – a rare achievement. He ventured into the Dunlop Super2 Series – Supercars’ development series – in 2017 with Eggleston Motorsport and once again proved to be a formidable competitor, winning the Mike Kable Young Gun Award as a standout newcomer. He continued to impress in the series, achieving a breakthrough victory in Perth in 2019.
In 2019, Will branched out to race in TCR Australia Series with HMO Customer Racing. He dominated the inaugural season, securing seven wins and clinching the championship title in his Hyundai i30 N TCR, underscoring his adaptability across different racing formats.
His consistent performances caught the attention of top-tier teams, leading to his debut in the Supercars Championship. In 2021, he joined Erebus Motorsport and proved his ability to mix it with the big guns of the sport when he secured his first Supercars race win at Sydney Motorsport Park, becoming the first rookie to win a race since 2013.
In 2024, Will took a significant step by joining the all-conquering Red Bull Ampol Racing Team. His inaugural season with the team was, as we now know, spectacular as he clinched the Supercars Championship title. Throughout the season, Will demonstrated remarkable consistency, achieving 19 podium finishes in 24 starts and, according to the Supercars website, spent nearly 54 per cent of all race laps in the top three and recorded a 79 per cent podium hit rate. Astonishing stuff.
While Will naturally takes the plaudits and the recognition from the fans and the media, it is worth noting that no one can win a motorsport series without the backing and support of a team of people behind the scenes – something Will is happy and keen to acknowledge. From mechanics to engineers to team managers and others, it’s a team effort to give him the tools to perform at his best and win races.
If you go back a few years, that support network was, almost exclusively in the early days, Will’s parents, Shane and Leanne. As many would know, it is through his parents and their business, Cars Galore, that Will has a connection with MTA Queensland. The dealership is a long-time MTA Queensland member, and it is Shane and Leanne who played a vital role in Will’s development as a racing driver. For Shane – who effectively was Will’s engineer, mechanic, coach, employer and financial backer for many years – watching his son reach the peak of the sport, fulfil a childhood dream, and see out the season by winning that wild final race was something special… and a BIG relief.
“I’ll be honest… It was just relief!” he says when asked about how he felt when Will had secured the championship after the first race in Adelaide. “It was such a relief. That last month, I couldn’t sleep at night. It was terrible leading up to it! I was just restless. You’re thinking about what can go wrong. It just starts creeping in…” However, the memory of Will’s victory, particularly in that last race, does now bring a smile to Shane’s face. “…he went from looking like being one of the real front runners – I thought he would beat them and win at the start – but he gets turned around, is dead last, and then makes his way back through and wins the race, and gets to do all the burnouts for the crowd… people said to me ‘What just happened?’ and I said, ‘It’s magic’. That’s the only way you could describe it, just true magic.”
After years of supporting his youngest son’s racing dream – support which led to some stressful times and financial decisions that would include offloading a handful of classic cars from his collection – Shane looks on at Will’s success with some satisfaction and acknowledgement that pressures are now easing. “What hits me is how hard it has been – on the family and everything – it has been unbelievably difficult, the highs and lows.. ,” he says. “When people say to me, ‘I want my son to do what Will has done’, I think ‘Poor bastards’! It’s hard work… It’s happened over a long period and it’s certainly an extremely difficult thing to go through and do. “Actually, the funny thing is, it has helped me realise how easy work is! What I used to think was a big problem, now it’s just nothing!”
Working at Cars Galore with his dad and family is something Will enjoys and will continue to do, and he is looking at other business interests – which have nothing to do with motorsport – as well. However, Supercars and racing will be the major feature of his life for many years to come.
But having achieved his boyhood dream of becoming Supercars champ at the age of just 26, where to now? What is the next goal? “It is amazing, but it doesn’t just feel like I’ve done what I wanted to do and I am all sorted,” says Will. “You always want to improve… you always want to win more things. It’s in your blood. That’s what you do. “So, I want to go out there and try and back up my championship next year. It’s going to be tough, but that’s what I want to do… I guess the fire doesn’t stop burning – you want to do more things and win more races.”
Click the link on the video graphic below to watch the interview with Will Brown.
Source: Motor Trader e-Magazine (December 2024/ January 2025)
30 January 2025