Supercars champion Will Brown has revealed that he was the driving force behind his upcoming appearances in New Zealand with Giles Motorsport, who he will compete for in three rounds of the Castrol Toyota Formula Regional Oceania Championship.
Speaking on Speedcafe’s KTM Summer Grill podcast, Brown shared that he had long aspired to race open-wheel cars in New Zealand, but financial constraints earlier in his career had prevented him from pursuing that path.
Now, as the reigning Supercars champion, he has finally seized the opportunity after collaborating with the NextGen New Zealand Championship, Toyota Gazoo Racing, and Red Bull.
“It was a weird one. I was on my cycling bike downstairs—I’ve got a TV there—and I was watching the Formula 3 race this year…,” he told hosts Andrew van Leeuwen and Stefan Bartholomaeus.
“I did Formula 4 and was wondering which path to take. I chose the Supercars path because I love Supercars, and, to be honest, it was more affordable. I felt like I could achieve success there, while open-wheel racing overseas was so tough.
“I had plans in 2017 to do the TRS series, but it didn’t come about due to budget. So I was just watching F3 and thought, I want to get back in an open-wheeler—how do I make this happen?
“I reached out to the guys over there, and it was right when Tony Quinn was taking over the rights to the categories. It took a few weeks of back-and-forth discussions, but I’m pretty excited to be racing in the series. It’s going to be very cool.”
Quinn, who owns 40 per cent of Brown’s Supercars team, Triple Eight Race Engineering, also plays a significant role in the NextGen New Zealand Championship through his National Racing Group Promotions.
Quinn’s motorsport and entertainment businesses in Australasia include ownership of the three circuits Brown will race at: Taupo International Motorsport Park, Hampton Downs, and Highlands.
When asked whether joining the CTFROC grid as the Supercars champion added pressure, Brown acknowledged the challenge ahead.
“There are obviously some great young open-wheel drivers—they might not even know much about the type of racing I’ve done,” he said. “Having Red Bull all over the car is going to be more nerve-wracking; they’ll probably be wondering, ‘Who’s this guy?‘
“But it’ll be cool. Having Red Bull’s support and doing these races will be awesome.”
Brown will debut in the Toyota Formula Regional Oceania Championship in a Red Bull-backed Toyota FT60 at the SIXT Rent a Car Historic GP at Taupo International Motorsport Park on January 10–12. He will return a week later for the Alliance Services Hampton Downs International.
Afterward, Brown will head back to Australia to compete in the Bathurst 12 Hour over the weekend of January 31–February 2, with details of his drive yet to be announced.
He will then return to New Zealand for the 69th New Zealand Grand Prix at Highlands on February 7-9.
Header Image: Mark Horsburgh / Red Bull Content Pool
