Waters not backing down over 'pretty wild' Rossi battle
Cam Waters forced onto grass by Valentino Rossi in "wild" battle
Rossi awarded bad sportsmanship flag over incident at The Chase
Waters passed Rossi into Hell Corner after McPhillamy off
Cam Waters has recounted his “pretty wild” Bathurst 12 Hour battle with Valentino Rossi, who was warned over a late move at The Chase.
It was Supercars star power versus MotoGP champ-turned-GT3 star, with Waters and Rossi going toe to toe in the first half of the race.
Aboard his pole winning #222 Scott Taylor Motorsport Mercedes-AMG, Waters tried several times to push Rossi’s #46 WRT BMW into a mistake.
As the #888 Team GMR Mercedes-AMG, #222 Mercedes-AMG and #46 BMW rounded up the #14 Volante Rosso Aston Martin, Waters got a run on Rossi.
Waters drew alongside Rossi into the braking zone at The Chase, and the #46 forced the #222 onto the grass. The #222 slid into the marbles, but Waters stayed on the road and pressed on.
Rossi, though, was awarded a bad sportsmanship flag.
Waters was pushing hard trying to clear the Italian's M4, sliding onto the grass through McPhillamy Park, before eventually passing Rossi at Hell Corner after he made a mistake at Murray's.
“It was pretty wild, decent battle with Rossi,” Waters told Supercars.com after handing over to Thomas Randle.
"I was quicker than him, but he was quicker in all the areas where I had to pass. He went defensive at The Chase and I went outside.
“He's obviously hasn't seen me — I hope he didn't see me — he squeezed me onto the dirt.
"Lucky to get out of it with no damage and obviously not going off or lose it a spot.”
When asked if the warning was enough, Waters replied: "That's fair enough.
"A penalty wasn't warranted, I just think he didn’t see me, so it is what it is. Lucky we got out of it fine, and we’ll press on."
After the Bathurst 12 Hour, Waters will commence his 2026 Supercars campaign in Sydney next weekend. Tickets, including for the free Friday, are on sale now.
