Brown finished 18th in the 52-lap race, which was blighted by a clash with Brodie Kostecki and Anton De Pasquale as well as the ensuing penalty that came with it.
However, there were bigger issues afoot. A little over a quarter of the way into the 200km race, Brown’s cool suit failed.
“They weren’t at the operating temperature they should be, and they get hot, and then they actually pump hot water around, not cold water,” Brown told Speedcafe.
“It was pumping at sort of 42 degrees, so it’s like being in a hot sauna with a hot shirt whilst you’re in the gym, so I really struggled at the end there.
“I was really hot from about Lap 15. A tough race. A shit race in general really.”
Brown was assisted post-race and taken to the onsite medical centre to be evaluated.
Red Bull Ampol Racing teammate Broc Feeney also felt the effects of the hot and humid conditions, coupled with cool suit issues of his own.
“They tried putting an IV in. The vein kept collapsing, so I didn’t end up getting an IV, unfortunately,” Brown explained.
“They just kept checking me out and making sure it was all good.
“I was just that hot after the race, just felt like I was going to pass out.
“They just took me in and did the normal checks and all that.
“I’ll recover, be ready for the next round.”
Brown said the team had been having issues with his cool suit over the weekend.
The issue only reared its head in the hottest conditions of the weekend, where ambient temperatures reached the mid-30s and the humidity was maxed out.
“We were having issues all weekend with them in a way, but we’ve never had it before, so unsure what the exact reason was,” said Brown.
“The boys and girls at Triple EIght will work it out, they’re very good.
“It’s just a disappointing weekend on the whole.
“I thought we had good pace, but just have nothing to show.”
Supercars resumes its season at the Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix on March 5-8.
This article first appeared on Speedcafe.com, a sister site to MotorRacing.com.
