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Title bridesmaids: Most wins without a championship

15 Feb 2021
Several brilliant drivers have fallen short of ultimate glory
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At the surface, history will remember the drivers who climb the summit to win championships.

However, behind every champion, several more pushed them all the way and fell short.

Since the category's inception in 1960, 36 drivers have won two or more races in their careers, yet have failed to claim a title.

Seven drivers will be on the 2021 Repco Supercars Championship grid, with Will Davison (19), Chaz Mostert and Fabian Coulthard (13) all winning more than 10.

  • Six drivers who missed title with most wins

  • Drought-breakers: One-time title winners

  • Who will join the winners list in 2021?

The aforementioned trio have all previously finished in the top three, with Davison finishing runner-up to Jamie Whincup in 2009.

Mostert has finished in the top seven in every season since 2016.

As of the end of season 2020, Greg Murphy leads the way with the most wins by a driver without winning a championship.

Four-time Bathurst winner Murphy won 28 races in his decorated career, the last of which coming on the streets of Surfers Paradise in 2005.

Davison hasn't won a race since his remarkable Bathurst breakthrough for Tekno Autosports in 2016.

However, his high-profile move to Dick Johnson Racing in 2021 sees the two-time Bathurst winner step into a championship-winning car.

Should Davison have a successful return to DJR, he could edge ever closer to Murphy's record should be beaten to the 2021 title.

The driver himself recently told Supercars.com that he feels his best driving is ahead of him, which bodes well for his greatest title bid yet.

"It's a bigger team environment, you're challenging for championships," he said.

"I can drive my absolute best, I feel like I've got my best driving ahead of me.

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"It's a great opportunity for me, so I'm chomping at the bit to get that elusive championship."

Davison is joined on 19 wins by Todd Kelly, whose best championship result of fourth came in 2005 for the Holden Racing Team.

That year, Kelly won his only Bathurst 1000 on his birthday.

Mostert claimed his first race win in 2013 as a rookie for DJR, having joined the team mid-season. However, he is yet to win for new team Walkinshaw Andretti United, despite recording the team's best individual championship result for a decade.

Regardless, the 2014 Bathurst winner recently said that he expects WAU to "come out swinging" in 2021 as it chases wins.

Coulthard, meanwhile, went into the 2017 finale with a chance at the title, and eventually finished third overall.

That remains his best championship finish, slumping to ninth in 2018 behind champion teammate Scott McLaughlin before improving to fourth in 2019.

Four more active drivers have won multiple races, but are yet to win the title.

Kelly Grove Racing recruit David Reynolds finished third overall in 2015 for Tickford, then named Prodrive, but hasn't won since the 2018 Newcastle finale.

Nick Percat, who has won marquee races in Bathurst and Adelaide, claimed two wins for Brad Jones Racing last year, and looms as a 2021 dark horse.

Another 2021 title contender in Cameron Waters, along with the returning Tim Slade, has won two races, his most recent coming at The Bend towards the end of the 2021 season.

Most wins by drivers who have not won a championship (multiple wins)*

*To Race 31, 2020

Wins

Driver

28

Greg Murphy

20

Jason Bright

19

Will Davison,

Todd Kelly

13

Chaz Mostert

,

Fabian Coulthard

12

Allan Grice

10

Steven Richards

8

George Fury, Larry Perkins, Paul Radisich

7

David Reynolds

, Tony Longhurst, Jason Bargwanna, Paul Dumbrell 

5

Alan Jones

4

Nick Percat

, Jonathon Webb

3

Kevin Bartlett, Steven Johnson, Lee Holdsworth, Paul Morris, Warren Luff, Steve Owen, Alex Premat

2

Cameron Waters

,

Tim Slade

, Jim McKeown, John Harvey, Wayne Gardner, David Besnard, Cameron McConville, Sebastien Bourdais, Dean Canto, Michael Caruso, James Moffat

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