Brown's silver lining of Percat defeat

Nick Percat will arrive at the next round in New Zealand as the latest winner in Supercars — and despite being beaten in the last race, that’s fine with Will Brown.

Matt Stone Racing recruit Percat held off Brown and Red Bull Ampol Racing teammate Broc Feeney in Melbourne to win his first race since Sydney 2020.

A strong stint at Brad Jones Racing paved the way for Percat to join Walkinshaw Andretti United, but results were hard to come by in two tough seasons alongside Chaz Mostert.

Percat finished 15th in 2022 and 20th in 2023, and managed just 14 top 10 finishes in 62 starts — with a single podium — across the two seasons. Speaking after his win, Percat admitted he was on the precipice of quitting Supercars.

Come 2024, and Percat has been a revelation — and despite missing out on victory, Brown was pleased to see the veteran get back to the top.

"I was also pretty excited to see Nick up there,” Brown told the Schick Cool Down Lap podcast.

“We all know he's a good driver. He's had a tough couple of years, you know.

Percat’s march to victory was followed by a humorous cool down lap moment with Brown, who thought the MSR driver was waving to the crowd, or preparing to do a burnout — where, in reality, Percat had run out of fuel.

The result kept Brown’s streak of first and second place finishes alive in 2024, with the Queenslander delighting to carry over his performance from the Bathurst season opener.

“What an awesome weekend,” the 25-year-old said.

“Yeah, didn't expect that. You know, I thought Bathurst was awesome. What we achieved there, me and Broc, and then coming here, I thought it'd be pretty hard with the sprint races.

"But to come away with three seconds and a first is pretty cool.”

Brown leads Feeney by 17 points heading to the ITM Taupo Super400, with Percat fourth behind Mostert.