The driving force behind Percat's WAU move

Nick Percat says being paired with Chaz Mostert was part of the "reasoning" behind his move to Walkinshaw Andretti United.

Percat sealed a move from Brad Jones Racing to WAU towards the end of 2021.

It not only sees Percat return to the Walkinshaw fold, but Mostert partnered by a marquee driver.

Percat, a veteran of 253 race starts, has been a fixture of the top 10 since he arrived at BJR.

The 2011 Bathurst winner was by far and away BJR’s most competitive driver, with Mostert also a lone hand at WAU.

Mostert and WAU reached new levels in 2021, highlighted by a crushing performance in Bathurst.

Mostert also finished third overall, the first such achievement by a Walkinshaw driver since 2009.

For Percat, who has a career championship finish of seventh, being up against a driver of Mostert’s calibre can only push both drivers forward.

"Going to a team with a driver like Chaz there was part of the reasoning," Percat told Supercars.com.

"I want to be pushed hard, and rock up week in, week out to win races.

"That’s what Chaz has always been about. It’s exciting for me to go up against a driver like that.

"There’s a reason they get good results, because they know what they need out of the car. Look at Bathurst, for example."

Percat has been a full-time fixture in Supercars since 2014, when he lined up in a satellite Walkinshaw car.

Three seasons with Lucas Dumbrell Motorsport followed, with an Adelaide win and Bathurst podium in 2016 the obvious highlights.

Percat firmed as BJR’s leading light, and was regularly in the top 10, gapping his inexperienced teammates.

Alongside Mostert, Percat expects the margins to be tighter. However, he doesn’t expect either driver to get preferential treatment as the team eyes championship glory.

"I’ve been around for long enough to know that I want to be up against the best," said Percat, who will visit the WAU factory on Thursday.

"I want to sit back at the end of my career and be able to say, ‘I went toe to toe with Chaz’ or, ‘I wasn’t quite good enough’.

"[A number one driver situation] never crossed my mind.

"All the conversations with Bruce [Stewart], Ryan [Walkinshaw], Zak [Brown], Michael [Andretti], it’s been about, ‘We’re a team’.

"We want to win races and championships, take it to the big teams and show what we’re about."