Report card: Nick Percat

With a break between Winton and Darwin, supercars.com is analysing the drivers’ results and performances in this first part of the season. The racing is the closest in history, with nine different winners in 11 races.

Nick Percat, Lucas Dumbrell MotorsportEngineer: Chris Stuckey

Average qualifying position: 22.2Average finishing position: 18.7Championship position: 21Points to leader: 546Wins: 1Pole positions: 0

Best result: Sunday win, Clipsal 500A mature drive in tricky conditions and the correct strategy call by Stuckey meant LDM achieved its first ever Supercars win, and Percat his first solo victory after winning Bathurst in 2011 with Garth Tander.

Low point: Missing Winton qualifyingAn engine issue forced Percat to sit out of qualifying at his test track while the team changed the motor. He started last and finished 21st on the Saturday.

For: There’s no doubt Percat is a talented driver – he says himself he challenged Scott McLaughlin, Scott Pye and Chaz Mostert in previous categories when they had more even equipment. He won Bathurst as a co-driver on debut and clocked up podiums at Sydney Motorsport Park and Bathurst in 2014 in a Walkinshaw Racing car.

His strong words about wanting to focus on driving, rather than doubling with a role behind the scenes show he’s determined to succeed. And having a young driver who isn’t afraid to speak his mind publicly is refreshing and exciting for the fans and the media.

He has paid his dues in a developing team and will strive for good results for boss and good friend Lucas Dumbrell this year – the better his numbers, the better the offers for 2017.

Against: Opportunities are few and far between with the car’s reliability.

Percat polarises fans with his comments, so while some enjoy his outspoken character, others will chop him down.

The team: While Percat’s engineer Stuckey is solely engineering (unlike team manager Barry Hay running teammate Andre Heimgartner’s car) he is preparing for both cars. Percat’s words about looking for a competitive drive understandably shook things up behind the scenes, boss Barry Hay acknowledged his frustrations and committed to improvement with hopes of upgrades comes Townsville. Is that soon enough to make progress?

Rating: CCould be our next superstar in the right seat.