Percat outlines championship target for 2024

Nick Percat believes a top five championship finish is a minimum for 2024 as the season approaches the halfway mark.

The Matt Stone Racing driver reclaimed fourth in the championship at last weekend's betr Darwin Triple Crown.

Despite a Sunday vibration scare, Percat was back on song in Darwin, and after missing out in New Zealand and Perth, regained the speed that led him to the top four in the first place.

While former teammate Chaz Mostert is 219 points up the road, Percat is confident he can bring home what would be a career best finish.

In 10 previous seasons, overall finishes of seventh in 2020 and 2021 are Percat's best in Supercars.

"I see no reason why we can't finish in the top five, to be honest,” Percat told the Schick Cool Down Lap podcast.

“The race I won, the points were spread across four races, so you don't get quite the reward as say, Chaz having a really good Perth.

“If we can just keep chipping away, top six each race, you'll be in the hunt at the end of it — not for the championship, but 100 percent for third, fourth, sixth. So, that’s the goal.”

The Grand Prix winner admitted he was the weak link in performances in New Zealand and Perth that saw him slide to sixth, having powered to fourth after Melbourne.

"I just made too many mistakes. New Zealand, probably wanted to be in the top five, where realistically the car was probably good enough to be eighth, sixth,” the 2011 Bathurst winner said.

“So, probably overdrove it a bit in both quali sessions, and obviously came from the back. Then Perth Sunday, shouldn't have got myself caught up with Le Brocq, and that cost us points as well.

"It was more about just tidying up a few little things, probably trying to not get too excited. Just go back to basics this weekend, don't overdrive it and just enjoy it, and sit back and have fun."

Percat is 498 points behind series leader Will Brown heading to Townsville, where Percat claimed a shock pole in 2020 with Brad Jones Racing.