Latest news with #WillBrown
Courier-Mail
9 hours ago
- Automotive
- Courier-Mail
Supercars Darwin: Barry Ryan's frank verdict on fall of Erebus
Don't miss out on the headlines from Motorsport. Followed categories will be added to My News. Erebus chief executive Barry Ryan has offered a frank reflection on a crippling 18 months that has seen his title-winning team slip to last in the Supercars standings. After a fairytale start to the Gen3 era, which saw Erebus win both the drivers' and teams' titles in 2023, the squad has endured a string of well-publicised internal struggles. Will Brown defected to Triple Eight at the end of 2023, while reigning champion Brodie Kostecki missed the start of the 2024 season while in dispute with the team, which coincided with big name sponsors such as Coca-Cola walking away. Kostecki would later return and win the Bathurst 1000, however left to Dick Johnson Racing at the end of last season – along with both Erebus race engineers George Commins and Tom Moore. Will Brown left Erebus at the end of 2023. Picture: Brendan Radke Brodie Kostecki was another high-profile departure. Team principal Brad Tremain also left the squad at the end of 2024 with plans to pursue an opportunity in IndyCar in the US. That has prompted a significant, and ongoing, internal rebuild, highlighted by Ryan himself needing to take the race engineer role on Jack Le Brocq's car. It's been tough going for Le Brocq and rookie teammate Cooper Murray, too, with Erebus slumping to last in the teams' standings ahead of this weekend's Darwin Triple Crown. 'There's no hiding behind it; the last 18 months have been really hard on our team. Really hard,' said Ryan at Hidden Valley on Friday. 'Losing key people … our last rebuild was 2021 and we got Brodie and Will and no one believed, really, in that. And we won a championship two years later, and we won Bathurst the year after. X SUBSCRIBER ONLY 'We've gone back to where we were [in 2021]. 'It's hard on the team. To replace people like George, Tom and Brodie is really hard. Brad Tremain is going to kick goals in America. That's four key people out of the team, it's really tough to replace that. 'It's going to take time. We can't hide behind that. I can only do so much and the boys that I've had there for six, seven years can only do so much. 'Unfortunately I'm still race engineering, and I say that because I shouldn't be. I should be running the business. But until we can get the right person to do that role; we're trying to self-promote from within, we're trying to find an engineer we can just put in and be really successful. Cooper Murray was 11th in the second practice session in Darwin. 'It's a balancing act and I can't say I'm really enjoying it. We got to a point where we were beating Triple Eight and we wanted to be that team that was the best year in, year out. 'Massive respect to Roland Dane for what he did for that whole time he was there, and what they're still doing. We got there and we just couldn't keep the momentum. 'No matter what everyone thinks the reason is why. We just couldn't keep that momentum that teams like that can do. 'Anyway, it's a lesson learned, this whole situation. We'll try not to go through it again. 'We'll get there again. We're confident in our team. We've got a great bunch of loyal staff that want to stay on and want to see us get there again and win championships and Bathursts. 'We're still going to go to Bathurst trying to win there this year. We'll have the belief and we'll have the drivers than can do it.' Erebus showed signs of improvement on track on Friday, with Murray 11th in the second practice session and Le Brocq in 19th as Andre Heimgartner led the way for Brad Jones Racing ahead of Ryan Wood and Will Brown. This story was written by Speedcafe Originally published as Supercars Darwin: Barry Ryan's frank verdict on fall of Erebus
Daily Telegraph
14 hours ago
- Automotive
- Daily Telegraph
Supercars Darwin: Barry Ryan's frank verdict on fall of Erebus
Don't miss out on the headlines from Motorsport. Followed categories will be added to My News. Erebus chief executive Barry Ryan has offered a frank reflection on a crippling 18 months that has seen his title-winning team slip to last in the Supercars standings. After a fairytale start to the Gen3 era, which saw Erebus win both the drivers' and teams' titles in 2023, the squad has endured a string of well-publicised internal struggles. Will Brown defected to Triple Eight at the end of 2023, while reigning champion Brodie Kostecki missed the start of the 2024 season while in dispute with the team, which coincided with big name sponsors such as Coca-Cola walking away. Kostecki would later return and win the Bathurst 1000, however left to Dick Johnson Racing at the end of last season – along with both Erebus race engineers George Commins and Tom Moore. Will Brown left Erebus at the end of 2023. Picture: Brendan Radke Brodie Kostecki was another high-profile departure. Team principal Brad Tremain also left the squad at the end of 2024 with plans to pursue an opportunity in IndyCar in the US. That has prompted a significant, and ongoing, internal rebuild, highlighted by Ryan himself needing to take the race engineer role on Jack Le Brocq's car. It's been tough going for Le Brocq and rookie teammate Cooper Murray, too, with Erebus slumping to last in the teams' standings ahead of this weekend's Darwin Triple Crown. 'There's no hiding behind it; the last 18 months have been really hard on our team. Really hard,' said Ryan at Hidden Valley on Friday. 'Losing key people … our last rebuild was 2021 and we got Brodie and Will and no one believed, really, in that. And we won a championship two years later, and we won Bathurst the year after. 'We've gone back to where we were [in 2021]. 'It's hard on the team. To replace people like George, Tom and Brodie is really hard. Brad Tremain is going to kick goals in America. That's four key people out of the team, it's really tough to replace that. 'It's going to take time. We can't hide behind that. I can only do so much and the boys that I've had there for six, seven years can only do so much. 'Unfortunately I'm still race engineering, and I say that because I shouldn't be. I should be running the business. But until we can get the right person to do that role; we're trying to self-promote from within, we're trying to find an engineer we can just put in and be really successful. Cooper Murray was 11th in the second practice session in Darwin. 'It's a balancing act and I can't say I'm really enjoying it. We got to a point where we were beating Triple Eight and we wanted to be that team that was the best year in, year out. 'Massive respect to Roland Dane for what he did for that whole time he was there, and what they're still doing. We got there and we just couldn't keep the momentum. 'No matter what everyone thinks the reason is why. We just couldn't keep that momentum that teams like that can do. 'Anyway, it's a lesson learned, this whole situation. We'll try not to go through it again. 'We'll get there again. We're confident in our team. We've got a great bunch of loyal staff that want to stay on and want to see us get there again and win championships and Bathursts. 'We're still going to go to Bathurst trying to win there this year. We'll have the belief and we'll have the drivers than can do it.' Erebus showed signs of improvement on track on Friday, with Murray 11th in the second practice session and Le Brocq in 19th as Andre Heimgartner led the way for Brad Jones Racing ahead of Ryan Wood and Will Brown. This story was written by Speedcafe Originally published as Supercars Darwin: Barry Ryan's frank verdict on fall of Erebus
News.com.au
15 hours ago
- Automotive
- News.com.au
Supercars Darwin: Barry Ryan's frank verdict on fall of Erebus
Erebus chief executive Barry Ryan has offered a frank reflection on a crippling 18 months that has seen his title-winning team slip to last in the Supercars standings. After a fairytale start to the Gen3 era, which saw Erebus win both the drivers' and teams' titles in 2023, the squad has endured a string of well-publicised internal struggles. Will Brown defected to Triple Eight at the end of 2023, while reigning champion Brodie Kostecki missed the start of the 2024 season while in dispute with the team, which coincided with big name sponsors such as Coca-Cola walking away. Kostecki would later return and win the Bathurst 1000, however left to Dick Johnson Racing at the end of last season – along with both Erebus race engineers George Commins and Tom Moore. Team principal Brad Tremain also left the squad at the end of 2024 with plans to pursue an opportunity in IndyCar in the US. That has prompted a significant, and ongoing, internal rebuild, highlighted by Ryan himself needing to take the race engineer role on Jack Le Brocq's car. It's been tough going for Le Brocq and rookie teammate Cooper Murray, too, with Erebus slumping to last in the teams' standings ahead of this weekend's Darwin Triple Crown. 'There's no hiding behind it; the last 18 months have been really hard on our team. Really hard,' said Ryan at Hidden Valley on Friday. 'Losing key people … our last rebuild was 2021 and we got Brodie and Will and no one believed, really, in that. And we won a championship two years later, and we won Bathurst the year after. 'We've gone back to where we were [in 2021]. 'It's hard on the team. To replace people like George, Tom and Brodie is really hard. Brad Tremain is going to kick goals in America. That's four key people out of the team, it's really tough to replace that. 'It's going to take time. We can't hide behind that. I can only do so much and the boys that I've had there for six, seven years can only do so much. 'Unfortunately I'm still race engineering, and I say that because I shouldn't be. I should be running the business. But until we can get the right person to do that role; we're trying to self-promote from within, we're trying to find an engineer we can just put in and be really successful. 'It's a balancing act and I can't say I'm really enjoying it. We got to a point where we were beating Triple Eight and we wanted to be that team that was the best year in, year out. 'Massive respect to Roland Dane for what he did for that whole time he was there, and what they're still doing. We got there and we just couldn't keep the momentum. 'No matter what everyone thinks the reason is why. We just couldn't keep that momentum that teams like that can do. 'Anyway, it's a lesson learned, this whole situation. We'll try not to go through it again. 'We'll get there again. We're confident in our team. We've got a great bunch of loyal staff that want to stay on and want to see us get there again and win championships and Bathursts. 'We're still going to go to Bathurst trying to win there this year. We'll have the belief and we'll have the drivers than can do it.' Erebus showed signs of improvement on track on Friday, with Murray 11th in the second practice session and Le Brocq in 19th as Andre Heimgartner led the way for Brad Jones Racing ahead of Ryan Wood and Will Brown.
Yahoo
18 hours ago
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Wood on fire in sizzling Darwin Supercars practice
Ryan Wood has scorched the Supercars field to set the fastest time in the first practice session in Darwin. The Walkinshaw Andretti United youngster outpaced nearest challenger Broc Feeney by more than two-tenths of a second in the Top End dry-season heat on Friday. Wood set the best lap of one minute and 7.059 seconds, with championship-leader Feeney 0.265 seconds behind and Triple Eight teammate Will Brown another hundredth of a second behind him in third. Drivers tested the limits of Hidden Valley's challenging 2.9km circuit, with several racers overshooting the long, loopy left-hander at turn one. A patch of parched grass at the end of the turn was set alight after Brown ran his Camaro off towards the end of the session. That's one for the Darwin bingo 🔥Follow along this weekend from our NEW Live Insights here 👉 #Supercars — Supercars (@supercars) June 20, 2025 With temperatures expected to run into the 30s throughout the weekend - and up to 50C inside cars - drivers' endurance will be as much of a challenge as keeping their cars running. Feeney was the first driver to run off on the first turn at the end of the 1.1km straight, but recovered to set a speedy lap time that had him at the top of the totem for most of the session. The 22-year-old won the last two races in Perth and showed promising pace as he looks to extend his 72-point gap at the top of the leaderboard at the track he won two races at last year. Teenage wildcard entrant Rylan Gray, Matt Stone Racing veteran Nick Percat and Tickford's Cam Waters also took excursions off the track on turn one, while Andre Heimgartner battled to hold onto control of his lively Camaro on several occasions. Drivers will return for the final practice session at 2.55pm (ACST) on Friday, ahead of Saturday's back-to-back qualifying sessions. Two 120km races will follow qualifying on Saturday, before the final 200km race of the weekend on Sunday.
News.com.au
08-06-2025
- Automotive
- News.com.au
Broc Feeney turns the table on rivals to win the Perth Super 440 to extend his championship lead
Australia's Broc Feeney turned the tables on his young New Zealand title rival Matt Payne to win Sunday's feature race at the Perth Super 440 and extend his lead in the 2025 Supercars championship. Four weeks after Payne held off Feeney in a drag finish to the chequered flag to win at Symmons Plains in Tasmania, the pair traded places after an incredible finish to the 200km main race at Wanneroo Raceway. This time, the 22-year-old Feeney got his Chevrolet Camaro across the line first by half a second to remain on track to become the second youngest driver to win the Supercars title. There's still a long way to go, of course, and with a new format in place this season, no-one is taking anything for granted but so far, Feeney has established himself as the one to beat. 'I just executed the start and just sort of managed the race in those first two stints,' Feeney told Fox Sports. 'It was probably going to be pretty smooth sailing home (but) with the pit stops and the safety car and Matt was super quick at the end there. 'I was a bit worried in the sprint shoot out at the end. He got one off on me last one so it's good to get one back on him this time.' Following on from his victory in Saturday's second 120km sprint, Feeney has already won five races this season to stretch his lead in the championship standings to 72 points over his Red Bull Ampol Racing teammate Will Brown. Payne, a 22-year-old rising Kiwi star, is currently in third spot, 123 behind Feeney. Starting from pole position, Feeney made a brilliant launch when the lights went out to take immediate control of the 16th race of the season. The only times he relinquished the lead in the 83-lap event was when he made his two mandatory pit stops but the introduction of a safety car, when Cooper Murray came to a halt because of a mechanical problem, set the stage for a nail biting 14-lap sprint to the end. The lead that Feeney had built up was instantly wiped away as the field came together for the hectic dash to the finish, but he held his nerve to seal the win and celebrate in style. 'I didn't have much left in the end. My rears were pretty cooked,' Feeney said. 'I finally did a good burnout, so hopefully it was all right for the crowd. I was practising with the (NRL) Bulldogs earlier this week, doing burnouts on grass, so it was good to finally let one rip.' Payne got a lucky break when the race was yellow flagged because it enabled him to make a cheap pit stop and jump to second spot. 'I'd never given up, absolutely not. When I saw the car that was stopped down at turn six, I thought, oh my God, we've actually got a real chance. And then I came out and I was behind Broc and I thought no way we're in second,' Payne said. 'I had already accepted 11th or 12th place was going to be where we were going to finish so it's tricky, very tricky but very, very lucky. 'I just wanted to keep pounding Broc there at the end. I was trying everything I could. but we just didn't quite have the car underneath us. 'We stayed close, but we fought right to the end, but I'm just really happy to be standing on the podium.' A tearful James Courtney also benefited from the safety car to finish third and secure his first podium in two years. 'I'm not going to lie, I did cry on the in-lap,' Courtney said. 'It's been a tough 18 months for these guys putting in so much work and to be able to finally repay them with the results has been amazing.'
