Imagine for a moment if motor racing might be added, retrospectively, to the 2024 Olympic Games. Each country could send 4 drivers to compete in several disciplines. With that in mind, I offer readers the prospect to be a selector; who would you select for Team GB?
But before you nominate Lewis Hamilton, Lando Norris and George Russell as three-quarters of the following British Dream Team, here’s a wrinkle I’ll add to the combination: you possibly can only pick one driver from each individual category. Hmm…
My crew? As an Australian, I'll start with McLaren's Oscar Piastri. Not a difficult selection, given his form. Next, down, IndyCar's Will Power. A veteran, sure, but fast as hell, and I appreciate his dry-as-sandpaper sense of humour. Next, Porsche World Endurance ace Matt Campbell. A quick, versatile addition to the combination.
And to round out my fast foursome, I’ll go along with Triple Eight Supercars ace Will Brown. For much of this season, the 26-year-old Australian has been the one a lot of the pack has been chasing. And he heads into the wintry Symmons Plains this weekend with the general lead.
That in itself is extraordinary. His eighth (2021), 14th (2022) and fifth (2023) Supercars championship finishes got here with Erebus Motorsport. Even if the brand new Gen3 technical regulations for 2023 mean that each one the cars are more similar than ever before, swapping teams within the off-season and racing three different Supercars over three seasons is not any easy feat.
Yet that’s exactly how Brown put it. In the primary 16 races of this campaign, he has 13 podiums, including three wins. Teammate Broc Feeney has more wins (five), but that is his third yr with the team and his second in certainly one of his Chevrolet Camaros. Brown’s consistency is astonishing.
Consider, too, that he has needed to forge a relationship along with his race engineer Andrew Edwards, who spent two years working alongside Shane van Gisbergen. On the opposite side of the garage, Feeney works with Martin Short – the pair who first worked together on their strategy to the 2021 Super2 title.
Brown has impressed since joining Triple Eight initially of the season
Photo: Edge Photographics
Brown’s ability to adapt would come as no surprise to anyone who saw him win the Formula 4 Australian and Toyota 86 Racing Series titles, in addition to finish second within the Formula Ford in the identical yr (2016). He has also won (and finished second) within the Australian TCR Touring Car Series, and is currently second within the GT World Challenge Australia, piloting an Audi R8 GT3.
In light of suggestions that he may soon turn to NASCAR, Brown’s adaptability looks as if a calling card that team owners will appreciate. And that raises an interesting query: Considering he made his Cup Series debut with Richard Childress Racing at Sonoma Raceway this season, how long will Brown stay in his current spot?
It might be some time, as historically long tenures are the norm at Triple Eight. Even if his role is now largely limited to Wildcard appearances in Supercars endurance racing, Craig Lowndes is now in his twentieth season as a T8 driver. Jamie Whincup was a full-time driver from 2006 to 2021 before taking over the owner/manager role, although he’s as a result of resume his role as co-driver within the enduro races alongside Feeney next month. Van Gisbergen stayed for eight seasons before the siren call of NASCAR with a North Carolina accent lured him to America.
Racing three different supercars over three seasons is not any easy feat.
The combination of a competitive automotive and a possible lucrative contract with a heavily sponsored team is something most drivers would jump at. At 26, Brown would wish a very good opportunity to look elsewhere, although the list of drivers who would gladly take his place if he did is just not short. But the NASCAR opportunity might be enough to distract him. If that happens, T8’s peerless talent scouts can have to seek out one other Feeney, who has done an admirable job since replacing Whincup.
One thing that Brown differs from van Gisbergen in is that SVG’s default approach to racing in Australia wasn’t to be particularly open with the media – his efforts to be more open with the media within the US are a testament to the quantity of labor he puts into his NASCAR enterprise. But Brown is of course more talkative. If he has something to say, he tends to say it. So far, he’s done so without making too many enemies.
All in all, Whincup and his teammates couldn’t have expected anyone to do a greater job in his first yr with Red Bull – although there remains to be an extended strategy to go within the Supercars season.
So there you have got it; I'm putting Brown within the green and gold and within the Olympic team. What do you’re thinking that? In my hypothetical Olympics, do the Australians have a probability of winning a medal, ahead of the British team? Maybe, possibly not. But let's be honest – identical to in rugby, we'll probably all get a thrashing from the New Zealand team. Right?
Van Gisbergen can be a sure thing for the New Zealand team
Photo: Nigel Kinrade / NKP / Motorsports images
