Brown grounded but Dutton confident after fast Ford start
Will Brown grounded but Mark Dutton confident after fast Mustang start
#888 Brown Mustang fastest in Wednesday's test session in Sydney
Brown and Broc Feeney in top five for more laps recorded on Wednesday
Starting the season atop the time sheets is a moment of pride for Will Brown, but the 2024 Supercars champion insists he won’t get carried away.
Brown's #888 Red Bull Ampol Ford ended Wednesday’s Destination NSW Sydney Test Day quickest, with the #19 Penrite Ford of Matt Payne second.
For what it's worth, Brown topped the 2025 test in Sydney, and left Round 1 with two podiums.
It was a solid start for Triple Eight Race Engineering, which ended Wednesday with two cars in the top five on mileage, and a car on top of the time sheets.
While many quipped that Wednesday’s running on the short Druitt Circuit could be moot, Brown maintains he was pleased to claim early honours.
"I feel really good out there,” Brown told Supercars.com.
"The car feels really good, just getting used to it. Obviously a massive change for us over the off season, enjoying being in my new Ford Mustang.
“Excited to be on top. Everyone's out there on the same track and similar tyres, so I think we could take some positivities away from today.
“Ultimately, it’s a different track to we're gonna be racing on this weekend and we're not getting ahead of ourselves.
“But we've had a massive off season, a lot of preparation in this and feels good to be fast today.”
Drivers and engineers will digest what they can from Wednesday’s running, held on a short circuit in sweltering conditions, before getting a rare night test on Thursday.
In a warning sign for Triple Eight’s rivals, Brown and Broc Feeney are up to speed with the handling of their new Fords, after three seasons racing Chevrolet Camaro machinery.
“The engineers were flat out collecting data drivers as well and now it's analysing it,” Triple Eight Team Manager Mark Dutton told Supercars.com.
"The best thing so far from the shakedowns, the drivers like the base handling of the Mustang, So, that was really, really positive."
All 24 cars return on the full 3.9km Gardner Circuit tomorrow evening for Session 2 of the Destination NSW Sydney Test Day from 5:30pm to 9:30pm local time.
