Brown leads DNSW Sydney Test Day as 2026 officially commences

Will Brown led through the opening hour of the Destination NSW Sydney Test Day, as the 2026 Repco Supercars Championship officially got underway.

Aboard his new #888 Red Bull Ampol Ford Mustang, Brown recorded a 1:00.5179s to bump Blanchard Racing Team recruit James Golding out of the top spot at Sydney Motorsport Park.

Due to urgent capital track works earlier in the week at Sydney Motorsport Park, Supercars is conducting a split test across two days.

The Wednesday morning session is being held on the short 2.8km Druitt Circuit, before the standard 3.91km Gardner Circuit hosts the Thursday evening session.

Golding clocked a 1:00.7087s on his seventh lap of the morning, before the session was stopped briefly through 30 minutes due to debris at the final corner.

Team 18 driver Anton De Pasquale was second with a 1:00.7197s through the opening hour, 0.0110s down on Golding, ahead of 2024 Supercars champion Brown.

2024 Super2 champion Zach Bates showed pace as the hour mark approached, moving up to fifth with a 1:00.7951s before setting the fastest time through the second sector.

However, the Matt Stone Racing driver aborted the lap and pulled into the lane, before the #888 Ford showed even more pace.

At the 55-minute mark, Brown nailed a 1:00.5179s to move nearly 0.2s ahead of Golding, with Bathurst champion Matt Payne fourth on a 1:00.7714s.