Making of a monster: Waters primed for Bathurst moment
Many say every single thing that has ever happened in your life is preparing you for a moment that is yet to come.
Through 13 failed Bathurst attempts, it seems written in the stars that it will happen for Cam Waters one day.
Glenn Seton is regarded as the best driver without a Bathurst win, the two-time champion coming close many times, yet falling short.
Seton had his heartbreak moment, that gutting engine failure late in 1995 that gifted victory to Larry Perkins.
Waters finished on the podium three years in a row between 2020 and 2022, yet on each occasion, didn’t suffer a heartbreaking loss — he was beaten.
Still, he’s had his fair share of devastation, namely clashes with teammates in 2017, 2018 and 2019, and watching his co-driver crash in 2023. Worst of all, he watched Chaz Mostert crash during 2015 qualifying, ending their weekend and putting Mostert in hospital.
After a runner-up finish at The Bend where he didn’t throw many big punches, Waters — armed with Mark Winterbottom — could quietly be this year’s biggest threat.
In his first Ford start since 2018, Winterbottom didn’t put a foot wrong, even muscling by teammate James Moffat. Had he not made that move, who knows — maybe they wouldn’t have made the podium, and this article loses some weight.
There’s a reason why fans threw their weight behind Waters/Winterbottom in a recent Supercars.com poll. It’s a near-bulletproof line-up, with ‘Frosty’ more likely than many of Waters’ previous co-drivers to hand over the car in a winning position.
Simply, if you need a co-driver to take on your Hazelwoods, Whincups, Pyes, Tanders, or Coulthards, Winterbottom's your man. Your move, Cam.
Therein lies the 1000 kilometre question: can Waters himself finally take a Great Race by the scruff of the neck? Clearly, Winterbottom — who was faultless at The Bend — seems the biggest step forward for Tickford, which is winless at the Mountain since 2014.
Still, it has been a bizarre campaign for Waters, who opened the year with a hammer blow on his rivals. Three poles and three wins in Sydney, all as commanding as the last. Since then, he has claimed (only) six podiums in 22 starts, and plummeted from first to fourth in the points in a matter of rounds.
Sometimes, luck begins to turn. Take Ipswich, where a well-timed Safety Car vaulted Waters from the bottom of the top 20 to the race lead. Oh, what he would give to have that luck in Bathurst.
At 31, Waters isn’t running out of time to win Bathurst. But to many, it’s taken longer than expected to get the breakthrough. This year, he makes his 13th Bathurst start. Remarkably, only eight drivers — Paul Morris (22 starts), Luke Youlden (18), Lee Holdsworth (18), Paul Dumbrell (14), Shane van Gisbergen (14), John Harvey (14), and John French (14) — had to wait longer for their first Bathurst wins.
It’s important to note that long-time rival van Gisbergen, who also debuted in his teens, won for the first time at age 31 on his 14th start, and finally broke through alongside an experienced former winner in Garth Tander. Even the all-time greats have to wait sometimes, and they also need some help.
In Waters’ case, should he finally get his hands on the Peter Brock Trophy, it will well and truly be worth the wait.
The views in this article do not necessarily express the opinions of Supercars, teams or drivers.
