223-point swing triggers Tickford call to action

How quickly things change in Supercars.

Tickford Racing left Sydney with three wins from three starts for Cam Waters, and the lead in both championships.

Across the next two rounds, Tickford's 26-point lead turned into a 197-deficit to Red Bull Ampol Racing, with Waters' 60-point lead evaporating into a 34-point deficit to Will Brown.

In two rounds, Waters benched 94 points to reigning champion Brown, with Triple Eight out-scoring Tickford by 223 points. Thomas Randle missed the top 10 in three consecutive races before closing out Taupō with two top sixes.

In fact, across Melbourne and Taupō, Tickford was also out-scored by Shell V-Power Racing Team, Walkinshaw Andretti United, Penrite Racing and Matt Stone Racing.

Waters turned disastrous Melbourne qualifying performances into impressive race comebacks, but was still out-scored by Brown to the tune of 67 points.

On a Taupō weekend Waters scored a podium and Triple Eight missed out on silverware for the first time since August 2023, Brown still put another 27 points on Waters.

Such was the head-scratcher of Taupō, that Waters insisted New Zealand would be the "lowest point of our year."

Tickford owner Rod Nash has seen enough, saying that after two rounds of "hanging in there," his Ford team needs to act. It comes after Nash said the team wasn't throwing the towel in after Melbourne.

“It wasn’t Cam Waters’ weekend, but it is what it is,” Nash said.

"He had broken suspension, he speared off in qualifying, then he had a wheel nut drama in the pit stop on Sunday.

“The job for Thomas Randle was gathering points and he was consistent, which is great, with plenty of points after qualifying in the top 10.

“It was not completely disastrous, but we’ve had two meetings now where we’ve been hanging in there, so the job now is to find our way back to the front.”

Tickford will resume its 2025 campaign in Tasmania, where Waters dominated the final race last August.

Combined Round 2/Round 3 points (drivers)

Combined Round 2/Round 3 points (teams)