Percat hails MSR turnaround after 'hard look at ourselves'
Nick Percat completes Matt Stone Racing's first-ever one-two finish
Cameron Hill claims first career win on career day for MSR
Percat, MSR Melbourne winners 12 months ago
Matt Stone Racing has completed an astonishing three-week turnaround in Race 5 of the 2025 Repco Supercars Championship at the MSS Security Melbourne SuperSprint.
It was a disastrous opening round for the squad at Sydney, with Nick Percat claiming a best result of 12th in the opening race of the season.
Compounding matters for the Queensland team, a refuelling blunder for Cameron Hill in the final race of the weekend seeing the team fined $3000 and penalised 30 points in the Teams' Championship.
The hit in points saw MSR tumble to the bottom of the standings on corrected points, a far cry from their 2024 season where Percat returned to race-winning form, and Hill one of the most improved drivers year-on-year.
Halfway through the Melbourne weekend, and MSR have returned to the front of the pack in supreme style, with Hill and Percat leading home Red Bull Ampol Racing pair Will Brown and Broc Feeney to claim MSR's first-ever one-two finish.
Although Percat claimed his first race win since 2020 in the final Melbourne race last year, the feat is made all the more astonishing by MSR's rushed departure from their Gold Coast base due to ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred.
"It's a credit to the whole of MSR, I'm sure a few people had some words about us after Eastern Creek, and we've bounced back really well," said Percat post-race.
"I'm getting long in the tooth, I'm getting a bit old, but we still keep punching so I can't thank Matt and the whole team enough for everything they've done, and everyone back home with the cyclone.
"It would've been amazing to have Jimmy [Stone] here as well for this, his son's first one-two, it's amazing. The Dabble car, the Bendix car, both super fast, so we're all happy."
After a difficult weekend saw the 2011 Bathurst winner buried in 17th in the standings, Percat himself also worked hard in the break between events.
"We just had a hard look at ourselves, I went away and got some driver coaching in Perth. I took a lot of blame, we did some one percenters wrong and that's all it takes, so we've bounced back well, but I can't be happy enough for Cam.
"I remember my first win, and I was trying to keep Will at bay to just let him enjoy the last two laps, and I was like I'll get the elbows out and defend the young champ, so it was cool."
MSR's historic day was set up by Hill's brilliant start from his first front row qualifying effort, out-dragging pole-sitter Feeney into Turn 1, before holding up yesterday's race winner in a smart bit of racecraft.
Percat added: "To be honest, amazing for Cam Hill. To get your first podium, it feels like you get the monkey off your back, and then he drove a faultless race. [He got a] good start, opened the door up for me at Turn 3 with Broc, and I could sneak on through."
Back-to-back Boost Mobile Qualifying sessions kick off Saturday at Albert Park from 9:05am, before Race 6 of the Repco Supercars Championship begins at 5:40pm tomorrow afternoon.
