WITH 2023 in the books and the new year up and running, Will Brown is now ready to talk about his next chapter.
Brown stunned the Supercars world last August when he secured an early release from his Erebus Motorsport contract to join Triple Eight in 2024 as Shane van Gisbergen’s replacement.
From that point on, his focus reverted to helping Erebus seal its maiden championships.
Now, Brown is officially a Triple Eight driver.
“It’s amazing,” he told V8 Sleuth.
“It’s something I have dreamt of since I started racing in go-karts, when I was watching Jamie Whincup and Craig Lowndes both in the Red Bull colours and it was something I aspired to do.”
All of a sudden, Whincup is his boss and Lowndes his teammate (in the capacity of another wildcard enduro campaign).
“It’s a little bit surreal still,” said Brown.
“Some people say they always knew that they were going to get to this stage and it’s what they were working towards; I think I’m lucky and it has been an awesome journey.
“I’m just really grateful for the opportunities that have come my way.
“I have just got to make sure I perform from here.”
Leaving Erebus, the form team of 2023 and the squad which first blooded him, was not a simple call.
“It was a really tough decision to make. It took a lot of thinking,” said the 25-year-old.
“As I’ve said before, Betty (Klimenko) and everyone at Erebus have helped me out so much throughout my career; I guess I felt bad in a way, but this opportunity was just so big.
“The amount of opportunities that also come with Red Bull sponsoring Triple Eight is huge.
“And Triple Eight have been first or second in the championship for nearly the last 20 years, so it’s just that longevity and knowing that I can perform there for years to come.
“That’s what I want to do, I want to win championships in Australia and Bathurst.”
The title is his out-and-out goal this year, and naturally one of his chief competitors will be a familiar face in 2023 champion Brodie Kostecki…
“I’m sure there’s going to be a quick rivalry between us and Erebus, and myself and Brodie, which will be awesome. I’m looking forward to that,” Brown added.
In Brown and Broc Feeney, Triple Eight has the youngest driver line-up on the 2024 grid.
Its new recruit is set to be engineered by Andrew Edwards, but what number he races with remains a closely guarded secret for now.
