Timeline to triumph: Brown's road to Supercars glory

Will Brown’s Sydney victory was a long time coming, even if it came in his first season as a full-time Supercars driver.

Brown, also a car salesman and pilot, defeated Jamie Whincup and Shane van Gisbergen in Sunday’s thrilling BP Ultimate Sydney SuperSprint finale.

The Queenslander only turned 23 in June; he was only seven years old when Whincup won his first race in 2006, and 12 when van Gisbergen broke through in 2011.

That same year, Brown started his career in karting and won a number of titles.

His first big break came in 2015, when he competed in the inaugural CAMS Jayco Australian Formula 4 Championship with BRM.

Brown won three of the 15 races in 2015 en route to third overall, and claimed the 2016 title thanks to a 12-win season.

Also in 2016, the Toowoomba-born driver won the inaugural Toyota 86 Racing Series title.

Brown won seven of the season’s 14 races, defeating David Sieders and Cameron Hill in a topsy turvy campaign.

After he scored class honours aboard a MARC car in the Bathurst 12 Hour, Brown earned his step into Super2 in 2017 with Eggleston Motorsport.

He scored a best finish of third at Symmons Plains, was denied a maiden win on the Newcastle streets due to a mechanical failure, and finished ninth overall.

Brown was awarded the coveted Mike Kable Young Gun Award, and improved to sixth overall in 2018.

In a year he celebrated his 20th birthday, Brown was handed his main game debut with Erebus for the 2018 enduros.

Brown and future main game rival Anton De Pasquale had little luck, however, with Brown suffering a major accident in the Gold Coast Saturday race.

Two national titles in 2016

Come 2019, and Brown went to another gear; he won the TCR Australia title with one round remaining, was named a Hyundai junior, and scored his first Super2 victory in Perth.

The first two 2019 enduros were mixed for De Pasquale and Brown; De Pasquale crashed out late in Bathurst, before they scored a top 10 in Surfers Paradise.

It was at Sandown where Brown truly shone, with the then 21-year-old following home Craig Lowndes in a chaotic co-driver heat.

For 2020, Brown linked with Erebus-affiliated Image Racing and was pipped to the title by Thomas Randle.

Brown won races at Sydney Motorsport Park and Bathurst and fell short of the title by 47 points in the truncated season.

Brown won the 2019 TCR crown

His third Great Race with Erebus was a tough affair, with Brown and David Reynolds falling off the lead lap due to car dramas.

Erebus had already locked Brown at the end of 2019 in for a future full-time start, which came to fruition for 2021 when Reynolds and De Pasquale both departed.

Brown’s full-time debut got off to a horrific start with a heavy practice crash in Bathurst, but he rebuilt his season and moved into the top 10 following a strong run of consistency.

Still, trophies remained elusive - until Sydney, where he has scored his first pole, podium and, on Sunday, win.

"I was sort of shitting myself a little bit when they were catching me," Brown said after Sunday's race.

"I thought if I could bank [Whincup and van Gisbergen] up into each other, they'd dogfight against themselves.

Two Super2 wins in 2020 en route to second overall

"It's what ended up happening, and their tyres were cooked.

"The best part was getting to do burnouts, that was sick."

Can Brown add a second win when the season resumes at SMSP this weekend?

The 2021 Repco Supercars Championship will resume this weekend at the Beaurepaires Sydney SuperNight.

Every session of the event will be broadcast live on Foxtel (Fox Sports 506) and streamed on Kayo.

The Seven Network will provide live free to air coverage of the event.

Tickets for the event are on sale now.