Brown, Wood smashed by dramatic Melbourne incidents
This story has been updated. The Will Brown/Cooper Murray/Jack Le Brocq incident is currently under investigation.
Will Brown, Ryan Wood smashed by big points losses over incidents
Brown/Cooper Murray/Jack Le Brocq incident under investigation
Wood slapped with 30-second penalty after sending Thomas Randle into barriers
Will Brown's misery in 2026 has continued, with the Red Bull Ampol Racing driver facing a fourth penalty in six races in race headlined by clashes involving Cooper Murray, Jack Le Brocq and Aaron Cameron.
A three-wide run to Turn 11 in Race 6 sent Erebus Motorsport driver Murray into the gravel. Brown was down the inside and Le Brocq in the middle, with contact sending Murray into a spin.
Officials announced the Brown/Le Brocq/Murray incident would be investigated post-race, leaving Brown staring down the barrel of another penalty.
At the time of publication, results remain preliminary. However, should he cop a penalty, 21st placed Brown would not lose positions with a time penalty, given 22nd placed Murray was two laps behind.
Time penalty or not, Brown suffered a genuine penalty to his championship hopes, having started Saturday's race from sixth. The Queenslander heads into Sunday sitting 15th, and is a whopping 266 points behind teammate Broc Feeney.
Brown and Cameron collided disputing fourth on lap 10. The penalty to the scoreboard was severe: fourth would have netted either driver 58 points. Instead, Cameron and Brown were classified 20th and 21st, scoring 15 and 14 points.
After the race, Brown was seen remonstrating with Cameron's team boss Tim Blanchard in the paddock.
Brown was left fuming in the cockpit of his car, having been sent through the Turn 9/10 grass by Chaz Mostert just seconds before the Murray clash.
Ryan Wood, who started last after a dramatic near-miss in qualifying on Saturday morning, copped a 30-second penalty over a clash that sent Thomas Randle into the Turn 5 barriers.
Wood crossed the line 10th, but was reclassified 18th.
It wasn't the only championship drama, with Matt Payne dropping from the lead to fourth after crashing out on lap 1. The erstwhile championship leader dropped to fourth, behind Feeney, Brodie Kostecki and Cam Waters.
Brown has a shot at redemption on Sunday, starting from pole for the finale at 10:10am.
