Brown shakes off jetlag to fly in first Darwin practice

Joanna Guelas |

Will Brown jetted into first place after the opening practice session at the Darwin Supercars.
Will Brown jetted into first place after the opening practice session at the Darwin Supercars.

Jumping off a plane and into his Chevrolet Camaro, Will Brown has topped the timesheet in the first Supercars practice of the Darwin Triple Crown.

Showing no signs of jetlag after making his NASCAR debut in California earlier this week, the Triple Eight gun clocked a lap time of one minute 6.415 seconds in Friday’s opening 60-minute practice session at Hidden Valley Raceway.

After finishing 31st in Sonoma, Brown flew home to Brisbane on Tuesday before jumping on a plane to the Top End on Wednesday.

He currently leads the championship by 136 points ahead of teammate Broc Feeney.

Less than a second separated the entire 25-strong field, with qualifying for provisional pole to follow later on Friday afternoon.

PremiAir Nulon Racing driver James Golding was second fastest, followed by Erebus Motorosport’s Jack Le Brocq.

Tickford Racing’s Cam Waters, who made his NASCAR Cup series alongside Brown, was fifth while experienced campaigner Mark Winterbottom finished sixth quickest after sitting second for most of the session.

The Team 18 racer enjoyed his last visit to the Top End, winning in Darwin in June last year for his first race victory since 2016.

With five victories to his name, Winterbottom has the most race wins in Darwin out of the current grid.

AAP