The hidden gains that launched Brown back into title contention

Will Brown's smile is well and truly back, and with it, comes a provisional Finals spot.

After leaving the first two rounds in 15th and 13th overall, the Red Bull Ampol Racing star finally put a great round together in Taupō to throw his name back in lights.

Second in the first race came after Brown emerged on top in a thrilling battle with Ryan Wood, before he raced to fourth — and fourth of the Triple Eight/Walkinshaw TWG Racing quartet — to bank more crucial points.

Heading to Christchurch, Brown is ninth in the championship, his highest points position since finishing seventh in the season-opening race in Sydney.

How it happened was simple: Brown not only rolled out with a fast car in practice, but he delivered in qualifying, something he made a point of after a fast Friday.

Brown qualified fourth and second for the two races, and duly made the results count in the races, something he had failed to do throughout the first six races of the season.

"Had some good battles there at the front all throughout the race and really promising again for us to have been top four in both qualifying sessions and both races this weekend," Brown said.

"Going in to Ruapuna next weekend feeling good, going to keep building on that consistency and pace we've had over the last three races in Taupo [Saturday] and Melbourne [Sunday] and keep pushing for poles and podiums, get that race win."

While only a small sample size, the outcome matters: across the last three races — the Melbourne finale, and the Taupō races — Brown has scored more points than anyone else.

Impressively, Brown finished fourth in the Taupō with yet more cool suit issues, which forced the Queenslander to receive medical attention after the race.

What matters most, is results are starting to flow — Brown was inside the top four across both qualifyings and races, the first time at a non-enduro event he’s done that since Perth 2024.

Triple Eight Team Manager Mark Dutton was pleased to see the points come rolling in as his team continues to learn the Mustang package.

“The Ford is strong, even though we’re still learning the right knobs to turn to extract speed,” Dutton said.

"Will Brown’s car was good out of the box and, although Broc Feeney’s was a bit of a handful at first, in the second race they were both super-strong.”

Track action in Christchurch commences on Friday.