S’porean racer Ethan Brown paused career for NS at 18, is now first local in European GT championship

‘I had a duty to fulfil’: Singporean racer competes on European stage after pausing for NS

At 18 years old, Ethan Brown had to step away from the thing he had spent most of his life chasing.

While his peers around the world continued racing, the Singaporean put his career on hold for National Service (NS).

“Like everyone else, I had a duty to fulfil, so I decided to do it as early as possible to get it out of the way to keep racing,” he said to MS News.

Today, the 21-year-old is back behind the wheel — and making history.

Singaporean racer pauses at ‘peak years’ for NS

“I had to enlist when I was 18 years old, so that’s kind of, as a driver, your peak years,” said Brown.

For many racing drivers, those years are crucial.

They are the years spent gaining experience, building momentum and proving they belong at the highest levels of the sport.

The pause could not have come at a more important stage of his development.

Yet rather than dwell on what he might have missed, Brown viewed it as a responsibility he simply had to fulfil.

Brown has since become the first Singaporean to compete in ADAC GT Masters, one of Europe’s most established GT racing championships.

This comes after a breakthrough season that earned him a place in Lamborghini’s prestigious Young Driver Program.

And with six podiums and two race wins, he also advanced all the way to Italy as one of the top eight drivers in the global Young Driver Shootout.

For the boy who first fell in love with motorsport while watching Formula One with his father, it is a milestone years in the making.

Childhood hobby became dream career

Brown’s racing journey began at six years old.

Like many aspiring drivers, his introduction to motorsport came through Formula One.

“My dad used to do a lot of simulator driving, so I’d always tag along with him,” he recalled.

That fascination soon led him to Singapore’s old Changi karting circuit, where he first got behind the wheel of a go-kart.

At first, racing was simply something he enjoyed.

But as he entered his teenage years, he began seeing it differently.

“I think when I was younger, it was definitely more of a fun thing,” he said.

But as he entered his teens, Brown started to consider changing his hobby into a career.

That decision eventually took him far from home.

In 2019, while still a Secondary 2 student at St Andrew’s Secondary School, Brown moved to Australia to continue both his studies and his racing development.

The move marked a turning point.

“I think when I moved to Australia to pursue racing as well as my studies, that was when it really turned serious,” he said.

“That was when I knew I wanted to take it as a career.”

Racing comeback became make-or-break moment

Brown steadily progressed through the ranks.

While competing in Australia, he earned six podium finishes across Australian Formula 3 and Radical Cup Australia in his rookie season.

Then came NS.

Like many Singaporean athletes and sportsmen, he found himself putting a dream on pause while fulfilling national obligations.

Returning after two years away from full-time racing was never guaranteed to be easy.

In fact, Brown admitted there was a lot riding on his comeback season.

“It was a very make-or-break season whether I would continue racing afterwards, or if I’d have to find another career,” he said.

Fortunately, the gamble paid off.

Competing in Lamborghini Super Trofeo Asia after completing his military service, Brown secured six podium finishes and two race wins.

The performances earned him a seat in Lamborghini’s Young Driver Program, making him the first Singaporean chosen for the initiative.

He eventually advanced to Italy as one of the final eight drivers in Lamborghini’s global Young Driver Shootout.

For a driver who had spent two years away from regular competition, it was a remarkable turnaround.

First Singaporean to compete in ADAC GT Masters

The strong performances opened another historic door.

This year, Brown became the first Singaporean to compete in ADAC GT Masters, a championship featuring GT3 cars from some of the world’s most iconic manufacturers such as Lamborghini, Ferrari, Porsche, Aston Martin and McLaren.

The competition is fierce.

“I think the biggest adjustment is just the level of competition,” Brown said.

“Everyone is so tight and close with each other.”

Success often comes down to details most spectators never see — training sessions, simulator work and countless hours of preparation.

The racing itself is physically demanding too.

While many fans associate motorsport with glamour, Brown reveals that conditions inside the cockpit can become brutal.

“It’s upwards of 50, 60, 70 degrees in the cockpit, so it gets pretty tiring inside,” he said.

Drivers also share cars with teammates, building close relationships over the course of a season.

“That’s basically your best friend for the rest of the season,” Brown said. “You bond with him. You eat with him.”

“It’s really a friendship, basically.”

Proud to represent Singapore overseas

Despite competing thousands of kilometres away from home, Brown says representing Singapore remains one of his biggest motivations.

I love representing my country wherever I go.

“To be competing on a huge European stage representing Singapore, I think, is the biggest achievement for me.”

That pride carries extra significance at a time when Singapore’s grassroots motorsport scene faces uncertainty.

Brown started karting at the now-demolished Changi circuit.

Today, the country’s only remaining karting track, KF1 Karting Circuit, is set to close in July.

“It will take a big hit,” he said of the local motorsport scene.

“But I’m sure we’ll find a way to continue.”

‘I wouldn’t trade this journey for anything’

Even though he approaches his career with pride and passion, life as a professional racing driver comes with sacrifices.

Brown spends much of the year travelling and living far from family, friends, and familiar surroundings.

“A big sacrifice is the time away from home,” he said. “Spent travelling, spent in unfamiliar territory. It can be tough.”

Still, there is no regret in his voice.

Asked whether life would have been easier taking a safer route and pursuing a conventional 9-to-5 career, Brown laughed and said, “definitely”.

Yet it was never really an option.

After all, he is still chasing the same dream that began when he was a six-year-old boy.

“I believe in my dream that I’ve had since I was a little boy,” he said.

So I wouldn’t trade this journey for anything.

That dream recently brought him to Circuit Zandvoort in the Netherlands, where he battled through limited preparation to secure a top-10 finish against some of Europe’s strongest GT drivers, according to a news release published on 26 May.

It was not a race win.

But for a driver whose career once stood at a crossroads, it was another reminder of how far he has come — and perhaps, how much further he can still go.

For Singapore motorsport, it was another reminder that one of its own is quietly making history, one lap at a time.

Also Read: Racer Ethan Brown to be first S’porean to race in ADAC GT Masters

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Featured image adapted from Ethan Brown and courtesy of MS News. Photography by Toan Ngo Huy for MS News.