TRIPLE Eight managing director Jamie Whincup feels it’s only a matter of time until the hard yards Will Brown is putting in starts getting rewarded.
After a title defence to forget last year – even Brown would likely admit that a runner-up finish in the points was slightly flattering – the 2024 champion dug deep in search of a return to top form.
That included an off-season move to Brisbane to be closer to the team and a steelier-than-ever edge to his racing approach.
The overhaul failed to pay dividends early, with Brown enduring an incident-riddled start to the season before getting back on-track with consecutive second-place finishes in Races 7 (Albert Park) and 8 (Taupō).
An uplift in results has coincided with improved qualifying speed on the #888 side of the garage, but there remains no hiding from the fact he is seven positions and 376 points behind Red Bull Ampol teammate Broc Feeney.
“I’ve been really impressed with Will the last two or three rounds. He’s driven very, very well,” Whincup declared to V8 Sleuth.
“Of course he hasn’t qualified as well as we’d all like and there’s no one that would say any different, but his driving in the races has been really, really impressive.
“So I can’t wait to unlock his qualifying performance. That’s a car/driver combination.
“We, as in myself and the team, are every bit to blame for why he is not qualifying on the front row every week as anybody else; at the same time it’s not bad, but it certainly can be better. Once he qualifies well and gets up the front, I think his racing has been really, really impressive.
“We’ve seen a real change in him this year: he’s having a serious crack and he’ll get the reward for it, even if we haven’t seen it straight up at the start of the year.”
Triple Eight is among the teams yet to reveal its Indigenous Round livery for this weekend’s Darwin Triple Crown.
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