Percat recounts 'super dicey' Courtney battle
Supercars
23 May
Nick Percat thrilled by "super dicey" James Courtney battle
Percat sent into wild slide over fast Turn 2/3 section
MSR driver penalised over earlier Jack Le Brocq clash
Nick Percat has praised James Courtney over their thrilling battle early in the Perth finale, which saw the Bendix Chevrolet tipped into a slide at 170km/h.
On lap 12, Percat and Courtney disputed 17th position, with Jaxon Evans and James Golding in close proximity behind.
Percat found the tyre marbles over the high-speed Turn 2/3 crest. Courtney got into the #10 Bendix Chevrolet, sending Percat into a wild slide.
However, the two drivers — with a combined 826 races of experience — managed to avoid an accident, with the battle carrying on.
Later, MSR posted a clip of the clash to its social media channels, with Courtney commenting: “Good times Perdog.”
Percat replied to Courtney’s comment, saying: “We have fun out there.”
Speaking to Supercars.com, Percat hailed his fellow veteran over the battle, which instead of ending in tears, carried on cleanly and without incident.
“It was awesome. That battle went on for nearly a lap,” Percat told Supercars.com.
“It started down at Turn 6 at the ‘Bowl’ — JC wanted to get through but we were so even in pace. He took a big dive at 6 and then we just went side-by-side through the last corner, into Turn 1, and up the hill.
“It was super dicey up to 4. I thought, ‘Nah, he'll surely give me a bit of room at 3 and 4', but both of us obviously weren't interested in getting out of each other's way.
"It was amazing battle. I had the biggest smile on my face. I think we both thought, ‘Oh, we've gone too far’.
“We came out the other side, and we were waving to each other and laughing. It was really cool.”
Percat would eventually finish 21st, after being hit with a 15-second penalty over a Turn 6 collision with Jack Le Brocq three laps before the Courtney battle.
Courtney, who finished sixth in Saturday’s race — marking BRT’s best result of the season — came home 14th, having started 21st.
"You can't do that with everyone, and I knew I could do it with JC. That's why it went on for basically every corner of the lap,” Percat added.
“When you go door-to-door with the right people, that's when the racing is really, really cool.
"The replay that everyone saw, that was probably the wildest part, but once he realised I was having a big moment, he gave me a bit of space to gather myself.
“We were both on the limit. It was super cool.”
Percat and Courtney are sixth and 17th in the championship heading to the next round in Darwin on June 14-16.
