TRIPLE Eight star Will Brown will contest the full 2024 GT World Challenge Australia season in addition to his Supercars campaign.
The 25-year-old will spearhead a Pro-Am effort with Brad Schumacher, sharing a Melbourne Performance Centre Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo2.
Brown, MPC and Audi have been a race-winning combination before in TCR Australia.
“I was keen to do more racing this year, and I really enjoyed the Bathurst 12 Hour, so I wanted to put something together,” said Brown, who’ll also reunite with former sponsor Shaw & Partners.
“Brad was keen to stay in the series and step up to Pro-Am, so this felt like a great match. I’m really looking forward to the season ahead.
“If Brad isn’t the best Am driver in Australia, he is certainly one of the best. He does an awesome job, especially considering he hasn’t raced all his life.
“The GT field looks very competitive this year. The category has grown in the off-season, and to see drivers like Chaz (Mostert), Jaxon Evans and myself in there, it’s going to be interesting to see how we all go and how we race.
“Brad and the Melbourne Performance Centre have put together a really cool deal. MPC is one of the most professional teams in the country and I’m looking forward to the season.”
After winning the Am title last year, Bathurst-based Schumacher felt ready to step up and he explained the switch from privateer status to joining the MPC fold.
“My driving over the years has been improving year after year and the results show,” he said.
“We were going to enter and run our own car in Pro-Am, but once MPC reached out with the opportunity to join Will Brown in the works car, it was hard to not accept.
“To have Will in my camp, it will not only improve my driving working consistently with a Pro, but it increases the likelihood of good results.
“Also, Will and I have a similar personality, so I expect this to help us gel, which in turn will hopefully make us a hard team to beat.
“Will’s a legendary bloke and gun Pro to match and he sees me as a valuable amateur driver, so we are just as happy to drive with each other, which is a good mix when you can look at each other with a respectful eye.
“But for me, I know that I’m going to learn plenty as the year goes on which will reap rewards.”
The opening sprint round of the GTWC Australia season takes place on April 12-14 at Phillip Island.
