Brown's bittersweet farewell after 'difficult' discussion

A triumphant and exuberant return to the front of the field was perhaps the perfect send-off for the combination of Will Brown and Andrew Edwards.

After Brown's jubilant celebrations on Saturday afternoon with a trademark storming drive, it seemed as though the trials and tribulations of a bruising season had been parked firmly in the rear view mirror.

But then, another bombshell in Brown's 2026 season: Edwards would leave his post as race engineer and fill Triple Eight's role as Head of Performance, and returning to Triple Eight would be David Cauchi, engineering the #888.

On the surface, the timing may seem confusing to some, especially when Brown roared back into form with a pole, a further two podiums, and outqualifying teammate Broc Feeney in all three races in Ipswich.

However, it also fills a gap in Triple Eight's performance staff that has been left for over 12 months since the departure of Jeromy Moore to General Motors, with the highly respected Edwards emerging as the ideal candidate to take some of the load off Technical Director Peter Ringwood's shoulders.

"It was a discussion I was a part of, and it was a very difficult one. We obviously lost JJ [Moore] a year and half ago, and we didn't fill that position, they promoted Pete Ringwood but really he's just been doing the job of two people because we hadn't filled that position," said Brown in Ipswich.

"Over the last year and a half we probably noticed that we wanted to get some more depth there, and probably get another engineer with that role. The hardest bit is finding someone who's up to that level.

"But Andrew is extremely good, he's been fantastic to work with, absolutely loved my time with him and wish it could continue to be honest, but we've probably noticed that he was the guy to move up into that role."

With Edwards tapped on the shoulder to step up as Head of Performance, attention turned to who would step up, a tricky situation in the middle of the season with most engineering line-ups well and truly locked down.

However, Cauchi's name immediately stood out, given his recent move back to Brisbane for a non-motorsport role following his departure from Penrite Racing at the conclusion of 2025.

"I was in discussions, and I said I'm probably only for it if I can get a very good engineer, it's very hard to find someone mid-season," continued Brown.

"A lot the guys are locked down, and all the good teams seem to have these non-compete clauses or bloody things going on with their engineers, so it's hard to poach someone.

"But we knew Cauchi was free, and that was who I wanted if I couldn't keep Andrew."

Ultimately, it's the latest career step in Edwards' decorated Supercars journey, which began at Brad Jones Racing in 2005, before joining in Triple Eight in 2022 to work alongside Shane van Gisbergen.

While the addition of the experienced Cauchi is a major boost to Triple Eight's stocks heading into the business end of the season, Brown admitted that losing the bond with Edwards will be tough moving forward.

"Congratulations to Andrew on being promoted, it's cool to see him go to Head of Performance, and he'll do a fantastic job there, but it is actually a bit of a sad day to be honest," added Brown.

"The way he goes racing is ride or die, he's got your back the whole time as a driver, he puts his heart on his sleeve, and he goes out there and every time he's trying to win that race.

"There's no better guy to have on your side, obviously I'm not losing him he's still going to be on the team, but it's going to be a bit different moving forward.

Brown said all of that with his former Erebus engineer — now Dick Johnson Racing Team Manager — Tom Moore sitting alongside. Brown was quick to quip, "You're alright too, Tom."

Cauchi worked with both Brown and Ryco Enduro Cup co-driver Scott Pye at Tuesday's pre-enduro test day, ahead of their first race event together at the AirTouch 500 at The Bend from September 11-13. Tickets are on sale now.