Supercars 2024: Ford star Cam Waters out to avenge horror 2023 endurance campaign to keep title hopes flickering

Tickford Racing star Cam Waters endured a luckless endurance campaign last year, but he’s backing his form to turn his fortunes around this year, starting at this weekend’s Sandown 500.

Ford star Cam Waters is confident he has the form and pace on his side to avenge a horror 2023 enduro campaign at Sandown and Bathurst as he strives to keep his faint championship hopes burning in the two biggest Supercars races of the year.

One of the form drivers of the Supercars field, Waters won his third race in nine starts at the last round at Symmons Plains in Tasmania and has finished outside of the top-five just once in the past six races.

Having trailed Triple Eight’s championship leader Will Brown by a massive 515 points after the Darwin round mid-year, Waters has now cut the margin to a less “daunting” 350 points with 600 points up for grabs between the Sandown 500 and Bathurst 1000 in the next two rounds.

Teaming with co-driver James Moffat for the fourth straight year, the Tickford Racing ace is hoping for a change of luck from what his 2023 endurance campaign delivered.

In a freak mishap at the Sandown 500, his race hopes were destroyed after the rear wing of his Mustang was dislodged by an errant wheel – which had flown off the Ford of Grove Racing co-driver Garth Tander – while Moffat was behind the wheel.

Cam Waters making a late charge for the championship.

Tickford was able to get the wing repaired under the ensuing safety car, but it pushed them well back in the field and they finished 20th.

Then Moffat crashed out at Mount Panorama, ending in a DNF.

“The enduro season last year was a bit of a shocker for us,” Waters said.

“We had no luck and nothing to show for the good pace that we had at times.

“(Sandown last year) was a bit of a weird one, I don’t think (Moffat) even realised it had happened. He just went past the crime scene and then came out without a wing.

“Hopefully we don’t have luck like we did last year and we can get some good results.

“I’m pretty excited to get into the enduro season. I’m coming off some good form, it also adds a bit more confidence going into the big races of the year.

The enduro season was a ‘shocker’ for Cam Waters and his team. Picture: Supplied.

“I think at Sandown we should be pretty competitive …. we have got all the ingredients there, we just have to go there and execute.”

Waters sits fourth in the Supercars standings and is now only 152 points behind third-placed Broc Feeney.

While Waters acknowledged his gap to the lead was still “massive”, he was not ruling himself out of the fight.

“It was very daunting two rounds ago,” Waters said.

“I’m definitely closing in. We’ve got pace on our side, but obviously still a massive gap.

“You really just have to get through the enduros, there is a massive amount of points on offer, 600 points for the two races.

Who will win this year’s Supercars championship? Picture: Getty Images

“You’ve just gotta get through these two races and hopefully you have won one or two and then just see where the championship is at after that.”

The qualifying master of the Supercars field with five pole positions to his name this year – the most of any driver – Waters is a former Sandown 500 champion (in 2017 with Richie Stanaway) but has fallen painfully short on three occasions at Mount Panorama.

The Monster Mustang driver was runner-up in the Bathurst 1000 in 2020 and again in 2021 before finishing third in 2022.

It’s a record he is determined to change.

“It would be super special to be able to get a Bathurst win. We’ve come close so many times and got poles and ran second and third,” Waters said.

“I would just really love to get that Bathurst win. I think we are in for a good shot this year.

“But really just kind of have to get through Sandown and focus on that one and try and win that and then we’ll focus on the big one.”

Originally published as Supercars 2024: Ford star Cam Waters out to avenge horror 2023 endurance campaign to keep title hopes flickering