Supercars 2024: Will Brown not feeling extra pressure in replacing Shane van Gisbergen at new team Triple Eight

Three-time Supercars champion Shane van Gisbergen’s seat is a very large one to fill, but former Erebus star Will Brown is feeling no extra pressure in his switch to Triple Eight for the 2024 season.

Red Bull recruit Will Brown is backing himself to be in the title mix in his first season with his new team Triple Eight, declaring there was no “extra pressure” on his shoulders as the driver replacing three-time Supercars champion Shane van Gisbergen.

Opening up on his move from 2023 Supercars champions Erebus Motorsport to the most dominant squad of the past 20 years in the series, Brown said it was the squad’s proven track record that enticed him to make the switch which headlined last year’s silly season.

Will Brown has made the switch from Erebus to Super Eight for the 2024 Supercars season. Picture: Brendon Thorne/Getty Images

Brown shocked the series last August when he negotiated an early release from the final year of his Erebus contract to sign with then-rivals Triple Eight as NASCAR-bound van Gisbergen’s replacement.

He will be jumping into the Chevrolet Camaro seat vacated by the New Zealand ace who delivered Triple Eight three Supercars championships in the past eight years and three Bathurst 1000 crowns.

But Brown was adamant that replacing van Gisbergen did not add extra weight.

“Obviously he did a fantastic job and it’s sad to see him leave the category,” Brown said.

“But I don’t think it adds any extra pressure, I am not thinking of it as taking his drive.

“It’s just moving into a team that has got a lot of experience and I have just got to put my best foot forward, but I am not thinking about it that way.”

Brown, 25, will join forces with young gun Broc Feeney, 21, at Triple Eight in what will be the youngest driver combination on the Supercars grid.

And Brown is confident he can make an immediate impact at his new team, fuelled by a tough finish to his 2023 campaign.

Brown was leading the championship after the round at Townsville before slipping away in the title race as his teammate Brodie Kostecki clinched his maiden crown.

Will Brown’s new teammate at Super Eight Broc Feeney and former Erebus partner Brodie Kostecki. Picture: Richard Dobson

“I felt like we were a championship contender last year until the back half of the season,” Brown said.

“This year, the aim is to try and get the championship but there are plenty of other guys out there and Broc will be going for that as well, but that’s the goal.

“I enjoy two young guys working together, quite hungry and want to win races so we will have a lot of fun throughout the year.”

Brown’s contract shock came at a time when Erebus was locked in a fierce battle with Triple Eight for both the drivers’ and the team’s championships.

Describing the move as a defection to the “enemy”, a gutted Erebus chief executive Barry Ryan said at the time Brown was leaving to join a “better brand”, but not a better team.

Brown explained it was the Triple Eight’s history of success which had enticed his move.

“You can see what the team has done over the years. They’ve been there for the last 20 years able to win a championship,” Brown said.

“Hopefully I can be here for years to come and win numerous championships.

“It’s just the history of what they’ve done and that’s what enticed it.”

Brown said he was comfortable with the terms on which he left Erebus.

“I will walk in and say hello to them for sure. Hopefully Barry says hello back to me,” Brown quipped.

“We actually left on good terms. I actually went over to America after the last round with Barry, as Brodie could not go there. I can’t see any issues there.

“(Brodie and I) are still good mates. We will see after one punts the other one or something happens how we go.

“He’s a bit bigger than me so I might not walk down and see him.”

Will Brown isn’t worried about the huge Shane van Gisbergen sized hole he is filling at Super Eight. Picture: Morgan Hancock/Getty Images

Brown conceded it had been tough watching his teammate go on to win the championship last season after the position he had been in mid-year, but would use that as motivation for the start of his 2024 campaign.

“It was definitely tough. It was a great start to the year and midway through after Townsville I was leading the championship and then the Triple Eight thing came about and we were able to get that signed off and knew I was moving there,” Brown said.

“I was looking forward to having a really strong end to the year to try and finish off the year strong with Erebus and then the championship fell away.

“It’s a tough one, everyone wants to beat their teammate and also win the championship.

“So it would have been fantastic for that to happen, but that’s part of racing.”

Brown and Triple Eight will unveil the team’s new livery at Toowoomba Wellcamp Airport in Brown’s hometown on February 3.

Originally published as Supercars 2024: Will Brown not feeling extra pressure in replacing Shane van Gisbergen at new team Triple Eight