Supercars: Nick Percat upstages the field with Sat. win in Tasmania

Nick Percat has held off Chaz Mostert in a thrilling Saturday race at the NED Whisky Tasmania SuperSprint, with the championship closing again at Symmons Plains.

Title race tightens again as strategy call pays off in Supercars thriller

A Matt Stone Racing pit stop masterclass delivered a second win of the season for Percat, who won the Grand Prix finale in March. Mostert, on an alternate strategy, powered from fifth to second.

Pole-sitter Broc Feeney came home in third, and with points leader Will Brown recovering to seventh from 16th, the championship picture changed once again in Mostert’s favor.

Today’s victory was Percat’s sixth career win from 333 race starts. It was his second of 2024, and the second win for Mat Stone Racing following Percat’s previous success at the Grand Prix earlier this year.

Heading into Sunday, Mostert is now 63 points behind, having been 279 points adrift after Darwin. Feeney is just 120 points back, having entered Saturday 153 points down.

“I don’t think anyone can say we lucked into it with people spearing off, or anything,” said Percat, who moved from ninth to sixth in the standings.

“The Bendix car has been on rails since we rolled out the truck. It is a pleasure to drive. I can’t thank Matt [Stone], [engineer Jack] Belotti, everyone on my car [enough].

“The faith is there, and when you’ve got the faith you go well. The thing was a jet. Obviously Chaz was coming on his three tires but I felt I could control the race.”

Cam Waters and Brodie Kostecki rounded out Saturday’s top five, with Cameron Hill, Brown, Tim Slade, David Reynolds and Bryce Fullwood rounding out the top 10.

Pole man Feeney was quickest off the line from ahead of Waters as the field scythed though the opening corners for the first time. It took until Turn 6 for a clash, with Matt Payne sent into a spin battling for last place with Will Davison.

An interesting subplot began to emerge over Feeney, who was asked by the Triple Eight to monitor fuel usage. The leaders then began to hit traffic, with Richie Stanaway released in the path of Feeney on lap 23.

Feeney nearly hit Stanaway on lap 26, with Waters, Percat and Mostert all ranging in.

Out of the leaders Feeney and Mostert pitted after Cam Waters, with Mostert taking on three tires as Feeney emerged ahead of Waters.

MSR brought Percat in to execute an overcut one lap later, and the 2011 Bathurst winner emerged ahead of Feeney and Waters after a fast stop.

The pit stop numbers were telling; Feeney and Waters were serviced with 4.7s and 5.8s stops, before MSR pulled off a 3.8s stop for Percat, which proved the race-winning edge.

Mostert caught and rounded up Feeney at the final corner on lap 50, and the Ford star had a second to make up on Percat in four laps. It wasn’t enough, Percat hanging on by 0.6142s.

Drivers return to the track for final practice at 10:20am on Sunday morning before three-part Boost Mobile Qualifying at 12:50pm and the final 55-lap race of the weekend from 3:05pm.

Race Results