By Joanna Guelas
Cam Waters admits he was hanging by his fingernails before finally breaking through for his first win of the Supercars season in Perth thanks to a Chaz Mostert penalty.
Red-hot Mostert had claimed the chequered flag at Wanneroo Raceway on Sunday after he surged past pole-sitter Waters to take top spot, but the victory would not come to fruition after pit lane trouble in lap 29.
End of the roadCredit: AFR
The Walkinshaw Andretti United ace was relegated to second following a time penalty for a near-collision with Waters’ Tickford teammate Thomas Randle.
In the end, Waters was declared the winner of the 55-lap race, with Triple Eight gun Will Brown in third.
The Sunday victory was a massive relief for the Tickford driver after he was absent from the podium before arriving in Perth.
Waters was notably knocked out of contention in Melbourne after a dramatic crash with rookie Matt Payne, before another collision in New Zealand with Tim Slade forced the then-pole sitter to settle for eighth.
“I’m hanging on by my fingernails. This weekend was all about getting some car speed and putting a lot of that bad luck behind us,” Waters said.
“It was nice for it to go my way for a change this year. Nothing has gone my way.
“I feel sorry for Chazzie, losing one like that, but at the same time, I’ll take them however I can get them at the moment.”
Competition leader Brown was handed a five-second penalty after bumping the then-third placed Randle off-track, but the punishment mattered little.
Brown’s teammate Broc Feeney capped a frustrating weekend in Western Australia by finishing eighth.
“He made his bed when he qualified 12th,” Triple Eight team owner Jamie Whincup said.
“Was it (car) set-up? Was it driver? Was it a combination of both? Not exactly sure. I think mechanically, everything’s identical.
“That’s just homework after the weekend.”
Nick Percat also received a time penalty following a collision with Jack Le Brocq.
The first-year Matt Stone Racing driver was docked 15 seconds after shunting Le Brocq off the track on lap nine.
Le Brocq’s Chevrolet Camaro subsequently caught on fire but he was able to resume racing, finishing 23rd and last.
Meanwhile, Percat slumped to 21st place.
Erebus teammate and reigning champion Brodie Kostecki did not finish after a coolant issue derailed his race on lap 21.
RACE 10 RESULTS:
1. Cam Waters (Tickford Racing)
2. Chaz Mostert (Walkinshaw Andretti United)
3. Will Brown (Triple Eight Race Engineering)
4. Will Davison (Dick Johnson Racing)
5. Thomas Randle (Tickford Racing)
CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS:
1. Will Brown - 1081 pts
2. Broc Feeney - 945 pts
3. Chaz Mostert - 906 pts
4. Cam Waters - 700 pts
5. Matthew Payne - 690 pts
AAP