Brown starts 19th at Sandown 500 after qualifying gamble fails
Will Brown must win Sunday's Sandown 500 or miss Adelaide grand final after qualifying gamble left him 19th.
Brown, the 2024 champion, gambled on his tyres and gave himself just two laps in qualifying. The strategy backfired, leaving him starting 19th in Sunday's 79-lap race at Sandown.
Matt Payne claimed pole position and leads the championship. Only four of the seven title contenders will make the Adelaide grand final after this weekend.
Brown finished 20th in Saturday's race, so a win on Sunday is now his only path to the final. Several other top-ranked drivers also struggled in qualifying, including Cam Waters and Chaz Mostert.
- 19th
- Starting grid position
- 79 laps, 250 kilometres
- Race distance
- 7 competing, 4 advance
- Championship drivers
- Matt Payne won by 0.1 seconds
- Pole position gap
Why it mattersBrown's championship dream depends on a single race result this weekend; failure eliminates him from title contention entirely.
AustraliaOne of Australia's top motorsport stories, with the Supercars championship climax coming in Adelaide next week.
✓ Claims checked against the source. checked 15 h ago
