'Undiagnosed driver feel issue' triggers MSR chassis swap

Matt Stone Racing will complete a chassis swap for Nick Percat ahead of the Grand Prix, with the team finding a "undiagnosed driver feel issue."

Percat left Sydney in 17th overall, courtesy of three finishes outside the top 10.

The 2011 Bathurst winner lamented narrowly missing out on top 10 qualifying results in all three races, Percat admitting he was happy to cast his attention to the Grand Prix.

In a statement released by the team on Thursday, MSR confirmed Percat will be shifted into chassis MSR-004, which was raced by wildcard Cameron Crick in Sydney.

MSR-004 is the team's three-time race-winning chassis, with Jack Le Brocq (2023) and Percat (2024) previously racing the car.

Percat joined the team in 2024 and raced the car to victories at the Grand Prix and Symmons Plains, before being moved into a new chassis from the enduros.

Cameron Hill, meanwhile, debuted a new car in Sydney, with Crick making his solo Supercars debut in MSR-004.

The Queensland-based squad said works are already underway to complete the swap, with cars needing to be ready to head to Melbourne by the end of next week.

“Matt Stone Racing will complete a chassis swap for Nick Percat ahead of Round 2 at the Australian Grand Prix," the team said.

"Due to an undiagnosed driver feel issue within the car over the Sydney weekend, and given the tight turnaround between events — restricting the ability to complete a full diagnosis — Percat will switch into the team’s spare car, MSR-004, for Melbourne.

"This will give the team the opportunity to strip back MSR-005 and investigate the cause."

MSR heads to Melbourne 12th and last of full-time squads in the teams' championship, 12 months after the team sat third after the 2024 season opener.

The 2025 Repco Supercars Championship will resume at the Melbourne SuperSprint, which will feature at the Formula 1 Louis Vuitton Australian Grand Prix 2025 on March 13-16.