6 days Ago By Harrison Reid
Will Brown has celebrated his maiden Supercars Championship win with a season-ending race victory at an Adelaide 500 Race 24 which descended into crash-filled chaos on Sunday. The Red Bull Ampol Racing star already had the title wrapped from Saturday’s Race 23 result and would lift the trophy regardless of what happened on the last day of racing for the year. That looked a necessary buffer when, after starting fourth on the grid, he plummeted to last on the track.
Know the news with the 7NEWS app: Download today The newly crowned Supercars champion fought back from 22nd when he was turned around by former teammate Brodie Kostecki at Turn 7 on lap nine. With 16 laps to go, Brown was given a huge favour by his Triple Eight teammate Broc Feeney, who shunted race leader Chaz Mostert. As the drivers braked into Turn 6, Feeney clipped Mostert’s back right and sent him spinning into the barrier.
With Mostert’s damaged Ford Mustang lacking in pace, Brown closed the gap and overtook the Walkinshaw Andretti United man on the Brock Straight with 12 laps left. Mostert eventually limped over the line in second place, with Tickford’s Thomas Randle third. In the final few moments of the race, Neil Crompton said: “What a way to finish our championship season, with a full-blown nailbiter.
” After the thriller was over, Mark Skaife added: “What a classic race. Absolute classic race, that one.” “And when he was spun he was parked at the back of the field at Turn 7, you thought there was no way that Will Brown can win this race.
“He has come back from nowhere and had drama with Feeney with a pit lane problem and a big incident with Mostert.” Mostert and Feeney had been locked in an intense duel from the front row until Feeney was handed a 15-second penalty for an unsafe release in the pit lane. Feeney was given another 15-second penalty for his bump on Mostert, resulting in him dropping to seventh, despite crossing the line first.
The 22-year-old had good company in the disciplinary corner. Kostecki, Cam Waters, Anton De Pasquale, Ryan Wood, Aaron Love and Mark Winterbottom — in his last race as a full-time driver — all copped penalties for whacking rival drivers in a chaotic season finale. Reigning Adelaide 500 champion Matt Payne was also sent headfirst into the tyre wall on Turn 11 by Nick Percat, burrowing under the barrier and losing his bonnet in the process.
Payne dropped to the back of the pack while his car was repaired and the sole safety car of the race ran out on the track. Kai Allen was also dogged by damage to the back of his Mustang after contact from James Courtney in lap one. The Super2 runner-up was elevated into Richie Stanaway’s seat after the New Zealander was ruled out with concussion after his own crash at turn eight on Friday.
Only 23 cars started the race after Jaxon Evans was also diagnosed with concussion following an ugly high-speed crash in qualifying. RACE 24 RESULTS: 1. Will Brown (Triple Eight Race Engineering) 2.
Chaz Mostert (Walkinshaw Andretti United) 3. Thomas Randle (Tickford Racing) 4. Will Davison (Dick Johnson Racing) 5.
Nick Percat (Matt Stone Racing) CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS: 1. Will Brown - 3060 pts 2. Broc Feeney - 2838 pts 3.
Chaz Mostert - 2667 pts 4. Cam Waters - 2551 pts 5. Thomas Randle - 2032 pts - With AAP.
