'Tough not being on the top step': Waters

Cameron Waters and James Moffat were both mildly disappointed with second in Sunday’s Repco Bathurst 1000.

The race was won by Chaz Mostert and Lee Holdsworth, with Walkinshaw Andretti United winning the Great Race for the first time since 2011.

Sunday marked the second consecutive runner-up finish for Waters, who finished second in 2020. It was also Moffat’s second runner-up finish.

The result places Waters fifth overall in the 2021 Repco Supercars Championsip.

“It’s bittersweet, I guess,” Waters said.

"To stand on the podium here is pretty special, but coming second two years in a row, it’s tough not being on the top step.

"It could be worse, we could’ve had a tyre fail with five laps to go and be nowhere, but we come here to win and while it’s great to have a trophy it’s not the one we were after.

"We didn’t have the fastest car today, so I think we capitalised on the car speed we had and made the most of what we had.

"Moff did a good job, he’ll say his first stint wasn’t too great but his second stint was mega and really helped, car was fast, pit stops were awesome, everyone just did a great job and I think we maximised what we had today.”

Moffat, who finished second behind Mostert in 2014, praised Tickford Racing for preparing a strong car.

“I lost the clutch at the start of the race, and obviously went backwards pretty quickly so that made it pretty hard for us in that first stint, it was pretty scrappy,” Moffat said.

"But fortunately Cam was able to get back track position for us in the second stint, and from there the race was pretty straightforward for us, really.

"The car speed was basically what it was, and nobody was touching [Mostert and Holdsworth] today, their car was incredible.

"I feel like everybody at Tickford did an amazing job, the pit stops were flawless, and my buddy sitting next to me [Waters] drove the absolute wheels off it and didn’t put a wheel wrong.

"Second was probably the maximum we could get out of the car, we just couldn’t find that sweet spot with the car the whole weekend, but Cam summed it up pretty well: bittersweet.

"We’ve finished second twice in this bloody race, so it’s good, but not good."

The 13-event 2022 Repco Supercars Championship will commence in Newcastle next year. Tickets for the event are on sale now.

The 13-round draft calendar was released on Sunday.