Percat hopes to keep punching above weight in 2025
Nick Percat finished eighth in 2024, a year after finishing 20th
Percat jumped 12 positions, MSR teammate Cameron Hill jumped eight
James Golding moved up nine places, Thomas Randle eight, Matt Payne six
Nick Percat is excited for 2025 after a season that nearly saw the Matt Stone Racing recruit finish in the top five in the championship.
Percat arrived at MSR after two poor seasons at Walkinshaw Andretti United, with the 2011 Bathurst winner ending his final campaign with WAU 20th overall.
Come 2024, and Percat won races in Melbourne and Tasmania, and finished eighth overall to help MSR to its best drivers' championship finish (and first top 10 finish) since its debut in 2018.
Percat did sit as high as fourth in the standings early on, but a poor enduro campaign saw the 36-year-old settle for eighth, despite ending the season with an impressive fifth in the Adelaide finale.
Such is the confidence at MSR, that team owner Stone believes both drivers can reach the Finals next season. It comes after a season the team also made the PIRTEK Pit Stop Challenge final in Bathurst.
Behind the MSR duo, James Golding moved up nine places to seventh, Randle up eight places to fifth, and Matt Payne up eight places to sixth. Golding, Randle and Payne all did so with their same teams from 2023, while Percat and champion Will Brown did it with new teams.
Speaking after Adelaide, Percat quipped that he could have finished fifth; he's right, given he ended the year 202 points behind fifth-placed Thomas Randle, who outscored Percat by 220 points in the final four rounds.
"Credit to the MSR team, we punched hard all year and got the best championship result for the team which is awesome to be in the top 10," Percat said.
"I’m excited for what’s ahead next year; if we had a smoother run through that October period we could have nearly walked away with fifth in the championship.
"That would have been seriously impressive up against some really big teams and great drivers and personnel.
"I’m excited for next year and what we have going on and re-doing it all again, but having a bit of a better enduro season."
Percat's 12-position year-on-year rise was complemented by teammate Cameron Hill's impressive jump from 23rd to 13th, which was the second biggest jump of the season.
The 2025 season will commence at Sydney on February 21-23. Tickets are on sale now.
Year-on-year changes in Repco Supercars Championship standings*
Driver | 2023 | 2024 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
Percat | 20th | 8th | +12 |
Hill | 23rd | 13th | +10 |
Golding | 16th | 7th | +9 |
Randle | 13th | 5th | +8 |
Payne | 14th | 6th | +8 |
Brown | 5th | 1st | +4 |
Waters | 6th | 4th | +2 |
Feeney | 3rd | 2nd | +1 |
Mostert | 4th | 3rd | +1 |
Davison | 10th | 9th | +1 |
Winterbottom | 15th | 15th | 0 |
Jones | 22nd | 22nd | 0 |
Slade | 19th | 20th | -1 |
Le Brocq | 12th | 14th | -2 |
Heimgartner | 7th | 10th | -3 |
De Pasquale | 8th | 11th | -3 |
Reynolds | 9th | 12th | -3 |
Courtney | 17th | 21st | -4 |
Fullwood | 11th | 18th | -7 |
Kostecki | 1 | 17th | -16 |
*Drivers who competed in both 2023 and 2024 as full-time drivers
