Erebus Motorsport’s Will Brown has suffered heartbreak at Sydney Motorsport Park tonight, after a pit stop drama stopped him from turning his maiden pole position into a shot at glory. Meanwhile his teammate Brodie Kostecki didn’t have much better luck after being served a pit lane penalty in Race 23.

After qualifying on pole for the first time in his career, Will got away well to defy Jamie Whincup through Turn 1 and take the lead as they headed for Turn 2. Behind him, Brodie was also quick off the line from 5^th and quickly moved past Will Davison to claim a spot on the opening lap.

Will led Whincup all the way until pulling from the lead on lap 6 to take his compulsory pit stop to take on soft tyres. However, a wheel nut issue on the front right led to a 28-second stop and saw the #9 Shaw and Partners Commodore drop down the order.

Brodie stopped on the next lap and the team recovered well to nail the stop the second time round. It wasn’t that straight forward though as Brodie was pinged for speeding at pit entry and was handed a drive-through penalty. The Boost Mobile driver dropped from effective 4^th as the pit stops played out and ultimately crossed the line 23^rd.

Will fought hard to round out the top ten though battling those with fresher tyres, he eventually finished 11^th.

Racing continues tomorrow with two more qualifying sessions and 32-lap races.