Tickford escapes penalty over fateful Waters pit stop
Tickford escapes penalty over fateful Cam Waters pit stop
Waters finished 24th and last after a wheel parted company
Alleged that wheel gun was attached to when car departed pit bay
Tickford Racing has avoided penalty over the fateful pit stop that ruined Cam Waters' Darwin finale.
Waters finished 24th and last after a wheel parted company with the Monster Energy Ford Mustang late in Sunday's Race 19 in Darwin.
Per the stewards report, it was alleged that during Waters' second pit stop, the wheel gun for the left rear wheel was attached to the wheel nut when the car departed the pit bay.
The stop was completed with 20 laps remaining, with the wheel parting company with four laps to go.
Tickford retains second place in the teams' championship over Penrite Racing, albeit by just 25 points. As Tickford's luck would have it, Penrite Racing's own penalty from Saturday prevented a change for second.
The stewards report reads:
Competitor: Tickford Racing Pty Ltd
Car and Driver: Car 6 Cameron Waters
Date: 22 June 2025
Time: 1542hrs
Session: Race 19
Allegation: It was alleged that during Car 6’s second pit stop the wheel gun for the left rear wheel was attached to the wheel nut when the Car departed the Pit Bay.
Rule: D11.7.3 Each Car must be completely free of all hoses, tools, Team Members and any other equipment at any time whilst the Car is moving
Decision:No further action
Reason: The Stewards summonsed and heard from the Competitor’s Authorised Representative (AR) and the DRD, reviewed available broadcast vision and the Team’s boom camera footage (provided by the Team).
The AR submitted that the wheel gun was removed by the time the Car started moving. The DRD submitted that the wheel gun was attached when the wheel started to rotate but accepted that the Car had not commenced to move when the wheel gun was removed from the wheel nut.
The Stewards find that on the evidence presented that a breach of the Rule as it is written is not established and decide to take no further action.
The Competitor is reminded that Decisions and Penalties that may be subject to Appeal are set out in B7.7.2 and the Rights to and process for an Appeal are set out in B5.
Tickford Racing Team Manager Matt Roberts put the incident down to a team error. Heading to Townsville, the 30-year-old slumped to 320 points behind Broc Feeney, who won all three races.
"We weren't quite happy with it, on that second stop," Roberts said.
"Unfortunately that's what happened today, a mistake in the lane, so the team can own that one.
"We'll go back here and regroup, look at it and analyse it. Ultimately, it's ended Cam's day.
"He was looking really good there at one point. We were hoping to get try and get him in top six, between six and 10, he was driving ripper.
"We'll get behind it, and move on."
