Percat's blessing for Bates' Supercars shot with MSR

Retiring Matt Stone Racing star Nick Percat has given his blessing to reigning Dunlop Super2 Series champion and replacement Zach Bates as the Supercars silly season draws to a close.

37-year-old Percat is will call time on his full-time Supercars career at the end of the season, bringing to a close a chapter that saw him claim some of the sport's biggest prizes in both the Bathurst 1000 and Adelaide 500.

His seat was one of two vacancies in the 2026 silly season following the Boost Mobile Gold Coast 500, with Bates being confirmed after weeks of speculation on Friday morning.

That now just leaves the Blanchard Racing Team as the only squad with a seat to fill on the 2026 grid, with Aaron Cameron not confirmed to be returning as of time of publication.

21-year-old Bates added to his 2024 Super2 title with an impressive series of performances in Triple Eight's wildcard Camaro throughout the season, including a stunning qualifying effort on debut at Ipswich, and claimed his maiden top 10 finish in a wild Repco Bathurst 1000.

"I hope Batesy. I like Batesy, he's a good kid," Percat said on the latest episode of the Driver's Only podcast.

When further asked if the MSR spot was the last viable option on the market for Bates, Percat replied: "I kind of stopped paying attention, but I assume so."

Bates told Supercars.com last month that all of his 2026 attention was turned towards securing a Supercars seat, and that a fourth season of Super2 wasn't on the radar.

Bates is the fourth driver from this year's Super2 field to secure a main game graduation. 21-year-old Jobe Stewart will be promoted at Erebus following a sterling Enduro Cup performance, 23-year-old Jackson Walls will drive Triple Eight's new customer SCT Motorsport entry, and 18-year-old series leader Rylan Gray will make his full-time debut at the fabled Dick Johnson Racing team.

Percat was joined by fellow retiree James Courtney and James Golding, who will replace Courtney at Blanchard Racing Team, on the latest episode.

Courtney also revealed a timeline for negotiations between Blanchard and his 25-year-old rookie, stating that: "Tim said he's not telling Aaron until Christmas if he's in."

Courtney then quipped: "Imagine if he just says, 'Come around, I have a present for you,' and then boom, a lump of coal, 'You're not here next year. Leave the car there.' Poor Aaron."

An impressive Gold Coast performance saw Cameron partake in his first ever Boost Mobile Top Ten Shootout, which he also converted into a top 10 finish.

Those performances, combined with a strong top 10 run alongside Zak Best at Bathurst, is thought to have boosted what was already a strong case to be re-signed.

However, it is also worth nothing that Blanchard had indicated at The Bend that he was working towards making driver announcements between Bathurst and the Gold Coast, only to announce the acquisition of Golding between The Bend and Bathurst.