Van Gisbergen intrigued by new Feeney/Brown pairing
Supercars
15 Dec
Will Brown replacing Shane van Gisbergen at Triple Eight in 2024
Brown and Broc Feeney form 2024's youngest driver line-up
Seven teams have at least one change to their 2024 line-ups
Shane van Gisbergen is hoping Broc Feeney and incoming driver Will Brown can push each other forward in 2024’s most anticipated new driver line-up.
Brown has shifted from Erebus Motorsport to Triple Eight Race Engineering, replacing NASCAR-bound van Gisbergen.
As many as seven teams have new pairings next season, with Erebus and Triple Eight joined by Tickford Racing, Walkinshaw Andretti United, Penrite Racing, Team 18, Matt Stone Racing and Blanchard Racing Team.
The new Feeney/Brown dynamic sees Triple Eight armed with the youngest line-up on the grid, with both drivers proven winners.
However, given Feeney and Brown both fought each other — and their teammates — for the 2023 title, van Gisbergen is hoping they can “put the team first” and drive Triple Eight forward.
“It’s going to be interesting, Will is a different personality but in a good way,” van Gisbergen said on the latest Quarterly Report by Gypsy Tales.
“It’ll be interesting to see what he brings with the car direction and stuff, obviously because Erebus have been very strong.
“Broc doesn’t like getting beaten, and neither should anyone. I’m sure they’ll be competitive, but hopefully it’s in a good way, and they drive each other up.
“It’s obviously Broc’s team and Will’s joining, I guess, but they’ve got to learn to get along quickly and try and put the team first before getting into a swinging competition with each other.
“I’m sure Will will be good, he’s got a good family around him too, they’re good people. The team is in a good place with the two drivers now.”
Van Gisbergen cited his relationship with Jamie Whincup, which at times saw both drivers fight fiercely on track.
Between 2016 and 2021, van Gisbergen and Whincup fought for championship glory, the former winning three times to Whincup’s one amid a run of dominance by Scott McLaughlin and DJR Team Penske.
Van Gisbergen acknowledged that having both drivers fighting at the front leaves them vulnerable to stacking, given the high importance of pit priority.
“We did get along well, and we raced hard. But there’s only one pit bay, and you want to be first one there so you get priority," he said.
“Jamie and I used to battle pretty hard, and we probably went over the line a couple of times.
“Broc and I never really did that, we always raced respectfully and gave room, there were no desperate moves on each other. It’s been a really good dynamic, the engineers got along well and us drivers, it's been really cool.
"Hopefully they can keep that next year… two young guys trying to be the ‘one’, it’ll be interesting."
