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Waters: championship bid will 'look after itself'

17 May 2021
Tickford driver coy over 2021 title chances after first season win
3 mins by James Pavey
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Cameron Waters remains coy over his 2021 title chances despite cracking the winners’ list at the OTR SuperSprint.

Waters heads to next weekend’s Winton SuperSprint as the latest winner in the current campaign, having defeated Shane van Gisbergen in Race 11.

The enthralling battle between the two, with the end margin just 0.7s, marked the first time Waters had beaten the series leader to victory.

  • How SVG-Waters battle is heating up, on and off track

Waters needed to get one over his Red Bull Ampol Racing rival, with van Gisbergen 264 points ahead through four rounds.

Tickford Racing seemed to have turned a corner regarding race pace following Waters’ Tasmania disappointment.

It couldn’t have come at a better time, with Tickford to test at Winton on Tuesday; a circuit van Gisbergen hasn’t won at since 2017.

“I’m just thinking about what makes our car faster across a race distance,” Waters said.

“I can qualify already; if you’re fast in the races, that really sets up your weekends.

WATCH: WATERS WINS! RACE 11 RECAP

“You can be up the front fighting for wins week in week out.

“If we’re doing that, then the championship will look after itself.”

Waters’ involvement in the Race 10 skirmish, which also claimed the scalp of fellow title hopeful Chaz Mostert, saw the #6 Monster Energy Mustang pilot shed 86 points to van Gisbergen in one race alone.

The 2017 Sandown 500 winner also suffered a power steering drama in the Mt Panorama 500 opener, dropping from the lead and coming home 20th.

WATCH: WATERS DROPS OUT OF BATHURST OPENER

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Offseason rust plagues front runners

Van Gisbergen won the race, his first of six in a row, and gained 105 points over Waters.

In total, across the two races, Waters dropped 191 points, leaving a meagre 73 points left over from van Gisbergen’s current margin.

“We’ve had a little bit of bad luck; Shane hasn’t had much yet,” Waters said.

“Hopefully he has a little bit.

“At the same time, it’s cool to have days like today when you can go head-to head with him and have a really good battle.”

Van Gisbergen brought home the most points across the three Tailem Bend races, despite going winless at the South Australian circuit.

WATCH: ALL ANGLES OF TITLE-DEFINING ACCIDENT

He hasn’t won in five races, yet heads to his bogey track at Winton 190 points ahead of his closest rival in the standings.

While content with an enlarged series lead, van Gisbergen lamented being able to clear Waters in the closing stages of Race 11 and maintain his dominance over his Ford rival.

“It doesn’t feel like a round win, we really struggled for pace all weekend,” van Gisbergen said.

“Just consistent, stayed out of trouble.

“The last race was quite good, I only had one shot to pass him, and I couldn’t quite make it work at Turn 1.

“Then he put the car in the right spots and I couldn’t get there.”

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