Brown recounts hair-raising Supercar vs plane runs
Will Brown readying for three days of races against Matt Hall
Brown to take on pilot legend Hall at Australian International Airshow
Points leader to resume 2025 season in New Zealand on April 11-13
Reigning Supercars champion Will Brown is leaving no stone unturned ahead of a big weekend of Supercar versus plane races against Matt Hall.
As part of a race-off, Brown and Hall will go into battle across the three-day Avalon Australian International Airshow on March 28-30.
Ex-Royal Australian Air Force pilot Hall is taking on Brown's Triple Eight Race Engineering Gen3 Chevrolet Camaro Supercar in his MXS-R aerobatic aircraft.
Hall was first Australian to compete in the Red Bull Air Race World Championships, with Brown winning last year's Repco Supercars Championship.
Ahead of three days of racing, Brown and Hall went head-to-head in a series of practice runs on Thursday.
"I've raced a lot of things, but not a plane before," 11-time Supercars race winner Brown said on Sunrise.
"So that was pretty interesting, did a race, was pretty easy for me, I just get to go in a straight line. Watching Matt upside down, next to me on a knife edge, it's pretty impressive."
While Hall can hit speeds up to 500km/h at 12G, Thursday's practice races proved closer than expected.
In the straight-line races, while Hall's plane will reach significantly higher speeds, Brown gets off the line stronger with superior acceleration.
"It's actually pretty tight, off the mark, he pips me," Hall said on Today.
"But I get to a higher top-end speed, so it's a photo finish."
Before he returns to New Zealand on April 11-13 to defend his 2024 Taupō victory, Brown will take on Hall in races on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
Such is Brown and Triple Eight's competitive nature, that the champion team has already sought out ways to make the Camaro go even faster down the Avalon runways.
"I nearly cracked 300km/h yesterday down the runway, but Matt's flying upside down, all around me, it's pretty cool to watch, that's for sure," Brown said on Today.
"We're actually so competitive, we changed the gearing in our car overnight, to try and make it better."
Hall and Brown will contest a race on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the event. See the Airshow schedule here.
Tickets for the upcoming ITM Taupō Super 440, on April 11-13, are on sale now.
