Analysis: How Waters pulled off Grand Prix heist

Everyone remembers the race victories, but if Cam Waters wins the 2025 Repco Supercars Championship, he may look back at Race 4 in Melbourne as a pivotal performance.

Starting 22nd, Waters was in danger of having his points lead wiped away in a single race, with Broc Feeney and Will Brown starting first and second.

Feeney and Brown finished first and second. Waters? Sixth, a gain of 16 positions in only 18 laps.

Was there luck involved? Of course. This is Supercars racing. But the Tickford Racing driver's aggression and smarts helped him get to sixth, which was a sterling drive of damage limitation.

Why did he start 22nd?

A Brodie Kostecki off in Race 4 qualifying put Waters, who hadn't set a competitive lap time, under pressure. He failed to make it work when the session resumed, and he was 22nd.

After the race, he hinted at a car drama, but didn't give much away. Regardless, a grid slot of 22nd was a drastic far cry from his hat-trick of poles in Sydney just three weeks ago.

The early laps

Waters was only 20th by lap 4, with Macaulay Jones and Kai Allen hitting trouble. Behind them was rookie Aaron Cameron.

On lap five, the likes of Fullwood, Davison and Evans all slipped up, and Waters was 17th. He passed teammate Thomas Randle and Andre Heimgartner, and was 15th on lap 6. David Reynolds was then roughed up, and by lap 7, Waters was 14th, a gain of eight positions.

The critical lap

The race really got wild in the mid-pack, where Waters was. On lap 11, Waters gained five positions alone, moving from 14th to ninth.

In a fiery battle, Chaz Mostert was shuffled down from eighth to 13th. James Golding clouted a tyre barrier and was forced into pit lane, and Richie Stanaway was turned around by Nick Percat.

At the front of the race, meanwhile, Brodie Kostecki hit Jack Le Brocq at Turn 4, with the latter spinning to the rear.

The final push

Waters picked off Percat, before Matt Payne tumbled down the order. Once fourth, Payne finished ninth, with Waters seventh behind Anton De Pasquale.

Waters started the 18th and final lap behind the DEWALT Chevrolet, and as Feeney took the win, seventh seemed the best Waters could do.

However, vision emerged of Waters out-dragging De Pasquale to the finish line, just as he had done with Feeney in Sydney, and stole sixth by 0.04s.

The reaction

Waters had questions over the driving standards of the race, with nearly every car picking up damage of some kind. However, he still reeled off 16 positions gained, with Thomas Randle gaining 13, and Ryan Wood 12.

They were all great recovery drives, and for Waters, it was one he needed to put on to prove he wasn't a one-weekend wonder after his Sydney heroics.

A jump from 22nd to sixth is an effort that would earn any driver headlines and coverage, but this one carries plenty of weight. Had Waters finished where he started, Brown would be trailing by just four points heading into Friday.

Waters will start Friday's Race 5 from sixth, alongside Brown. The race will commence at 2:50pm local time.

Cam Waters in Race 4: Lap-by-lap chart