Waters not giving up on Supercars title

Cam Waters moved from 15th to fourth in points
Waters claimed first win of 2024 in Perth
Tickford star still 381 points behind leader Will Brown

Cam Waters says he has to "do a lot of winning" if he's to mount a championship comeback, with the Tickford Racing admitting he is "hanging on by my fingernails."

After three rounds of near-misses and bad luck, Waters finished third and first at the Bosch Power Tools Perth SuperSprint, only being out-scored by Ford rival Chaz Mostert.

Waters had luck go his way on Sunday, with Mostert copping a time penalty over an unsafe release, helping the former race to victory despite finishing second on the road.

It was a stark contrast to the first three rounds of the year, with Waters losing a wheel in Bathurst, crashing disputing the lead in Melbourne, and being taken out off the line from pole in New Zealand.

In one weekend, Waters vaulted from 15th to fourth in the standings, but is 381 points behind championship leader Will Brown.

The results were a welcome change of fortune for Waters and Tickford off the back of a difficult start to a season where he was expected to be a title contender.

That included issues such as losing a wheel at the season opener in Bathurst, clashing with Matt Payne while fighting for the lead at Albert Park, and tangling with Tim Slade off the line when starting from pole in Taupo.

The Perth turnaround shifted Waters up to fourth in the standings, albeit 381 points behind runaway early leader Will Brown.

"I'm hanging on by my fingernails," Waters said in the post-race press conference.

"[The Perth] weekend was all about getting some car speed and putting a lot of the bad luck behind us, and trying to convert a bit of that car speed.

"[Saturday] was great, you know, getting the podium and we really just built on that overnight and brought a faster car to the track [on Sunday].

"For Tickford, it's all about getting faster and being more consistent week in, week out. And we've just got to do a lot of winning now."

For just the third time in nine seasons since his 2016 debut, Waters is in the top four in the championship after four rounds.

The Mildura-born driver, who will make his NASCAR Cup Series debut next month, needs a record-breaking effort to become champion this season.

Jamie Whincup overhauled a 213-point deficit midway through the 2014 season to become champion, with Waters 381 points down with 2420 points still to win.

The biggest post-event deficits overhauled to become champion (since 2000)

Deficit (points)	Year	Driver	When
-213	2014	Whincup	Rnd 5/14
-208	2008	Whincup	Rnd 7/14
-204	2010	Courtney	Race 4/14
-144	2003	Ambrose	Rnd 2/13
-137	2016	van Gisbergen	Rnd 9/14
-129	2017	Whincup	Rnd 8/14
-115	2005	Ingall	Rnd 7/13
-101	2006	R. Kelly	Rnd 9/13
-100	2011	Whincup	Rnd 10/14
-93	2018	McLaughlin	Rnd 1/16