loaned only for a pre-event launch and was not intended for racing<\/a>.<\/p>\nSpeaking on his Lucky Dogs Podcast, Brown said he was \u201cin shock\u201d after being informed of the news.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not really sure just yet how to take it and sort of how to feel right now,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s one of those things that there\u2019s a little bit of relief, I\u2019d say, in a way, but also not sure whether to be disappointed, angry, or what way.\u201d<\/p>\n
Triple Eight had been chasing an answer to a mysterious straight line speed issue with Brown\u2019s car all season.<\/p>\n
Brown\u2019s results have fluctuated throughout the year, with the #888 Mustang generally stronger on the tighter, less horsepower-dependent layouts.<\/p>\n
Even dyno testing and an engine swap did not reveal the issue as the restrictor itself stays with the car.<\/p>\n
The 2024 champion described it as a \u201cvery tough year\u201d to date while grappling with self-doubt.<\/p>\n
He believes the incorrect part has been costing him 1.5 tenths of a second per lap on average and largely explains his poor results.<\/p>\n
\u201cI changed a lot over the off season to try and prepare for this year, with fitness, training, general life, and to get in and try and concentrate,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI stepped back from a lot of things to try and concentrate on a big year of racing,<\/p>\n
\u201cTo have the results we\u2019ve been having\u2026 I actually at some stages said I don\u2019t think I have it anymore.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was disappointing to obviously hear what\u2019s going on with the car all year.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve never heard of anything like this before in a category like this in the world\u2026 it\u2019s quite crazy.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Will](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Will-Brown.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Will Brown at Symmons Plains. Image: Supplied<\/p>\n
Although wanting answers from Supercars about how the situation could occur, he said Triple Eight needs to shoulder some responsibility.<\/p>\n
Brown acknowledged the team betrayed its own motto of \u2018Assume Nothing\u2019, which former boss Roland Dane had emblazoned on the workshop wall.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s hard because you want to blame someone as a driver in this situation, but there\u2019s actually no one to blame,\u201d Brown said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s very hard to point the fingers because yes, Supercars provided a part that you would think you wouldn\u2019t need to check, but you should check it.<\/p>\n
\u201cObviously we didn\u2019t check it, so it\u2019s on us that we didn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
Brown and podcast co-host Brodie Kostecki ran through what impact the 1.5 tenth disadvantage would have had at various circuits.<\/p>\n
However, Brown acknowledged it\u2019s not the entire story of his season.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not at all saying that this is all of our problem,\u201d Brown said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just want to be on an even playing field to everyone else.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ll head to Ipswich, try and put our best foot forward.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want to try and win races, but like I say, it\u2019s not saying we\u2019re gonna go win, but we\u2019re gonna have a chance to win now.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Will Brown. Image: Supplied Triple Eight discovered on Tuesday evening that the #888 Ford had been racing with…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":568957,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[111,139,69,1058,213,21403,15968],"class_list":["post-568956","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-slot1","tag-sports","tag-triple-eight","tag-will-brown"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/568956","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=568956"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/568956\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/568957"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=568956"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=568956"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=568956"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"\u2018In](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Will-Brown-reacts.jpg\")
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tWill Brown. Image: Supplied <\/p>\n