Waters reveals headstart on 2025 championship bid

Trailing the two Triple Eight cars in Sunday's Gold Coast finale, Cam Waters was already getting ahead of the curve for next season after falling out of 2024 title contention.

Waters and Ford rival Chaz Mostert dropped out of championship contention after Sunday's Boost Mobile Gold Coast 500, leaving Triple Eight teammates Will Brown and Broc Feeney to fight for the crown in Adelaide.

Where Mostert was cruelly knocked out after double disaster on the Gold Coast, Waters was always a long shot after a nightmare start to the season.

The Tickford Racing driver was already a staggering 388 points behind Brown after Round 3 in New Zealand, benching 192 points in the Bathurst season-opener alone, coupled with a DNF at Albert Park and contact from pole in Taupō.

In the eight rounds since, Brown only outscored Waters by 26 points, with Feeney 77 points behind, and Mostert 120. In that stretch, no driver won more than Waters.

In the closing laps of Race 22 on Sunday, Waters and Tickford got to work learning as much as they could for 2025, which marks 10 years since the Ford team won the championship with Mark Winterbottom.

"We're pretty well not racing for a championship obviously now, I think we could get to third if Chaz had a few more dramas," said Waters, who is 119 points behind former teammate Mostert.

"We want to win races and get poles for sure, but it's also about learning for next year and making sure we're good for next year at all different tracks.

"Even today in that race, we tried things with the car to try and learn for next year. Eyes are forward."

Waters was thrashing his car around the Surfers streets all weekend, to the point where he sustained front splitter damage while chasing the two Bulls. Having dominated from pole on Saturday, Waters lamented a poor Shootout lap, which saw the Monster Ford driver put on an alternate strategy.

"It was probably one of the many tyre bundles I hit out there, not sure which one" Waters said when asked about his front damage.

"We started too far back, that was partially my fault. I had my work cut out for us.

"We had to roll the dice, do something different, we knew we had a fast car in clean air, so we just had to try and get us in clean air. That middle stint there, it was a bullet again.

"I had to pass a few cars, but we had the tyre advantage to be able to do it. I was throwing everything at it at the end there to try and get on the podium.

"I was beating up the car to get there, but she lasted."

Waters, who has never been in contention for a championship at the final round of a season, admitted he was frustrated not to be able to convert his rapid pace into a win on Sunday.

"We were 100 percent attack. I think we had a slow fuel flow in the second stop, which probably cost us a little bit there," said the 30-year-old, whose car will be auctioned off in coming weeks.

"That's okay, everyone has those stories across pit lane, it was 100 percent attack in that race. You come here to win races, and when you have a car to do that, you're annoyed you haven't been able to convert it.

"But at the same time, I'm pretty happy with where we got to, I'm so proud of the team for giving me a fast car. To be honest mate, I'm pretty buggered."

The 2024 Repco Supercars Championship will be decided at the season-ending VAILO Adelaide 500 on November 14-17. Tickets are on sale now.