Top 10 Supercars drivers of 2024: Nick Percat
As 2024 winds down, Supercars.com is ranking the top 10 drivers of the 2024 Repco Supercars Championship, continuing with Nick Percat, who comes in as our #6.
As the old saying goes, a change can be as good as a holiday. In Nick Percat's case, it very well could've saved his career.
After two miserable seasons at Walkinshaw Andretti United, Percat took what appeared to be a gamble to join Matt Stone Racing, who had started Gen3 strong with Jack Le Brocq before fading late in 2023.
As Percat said himself, as soon as he toured the workshop he knew good things were coming, however few could've expected what was to come.
The 2011 Bathurst winner was back to his best this year, in one of the feel-good stories of the season.
Nick Percat's season stats
Championship position: 8th
Best finish: 1st (Melbourne, Tasmania)
Average finish: 11.25
Race head-to-head with teammate: 16-8
Podiums: 2
Best start: 3rd (Sydney)
Average start: 12.83
Qualifying head-to-head with teammate: 14-10
Why we picked him
Nick Percat's second tenure with the Walkinshaw Group was a tough watch, with the only real highlight being a runner-up finish in a memorable one-two with Chaz Mostert at Adelaide in 2022. Last year in particular destroyed the 2016 Adelaide 500 winner's confidence, and coming into his new MSR deal, no one really knew what to expect. By the end of the second event in Melbourne, Percat was a race winner for the first time since 2020, and remarkably sat fourth in the standings. He repeated the feat in Tasmania with an equally impressive drive to fend off Mostert and Broc Feeney. Percat was back to his Brad Jones Racing best in 2024, dragging a smaller team to the front of the pack with some individual heroics. A poor run in the final few rounds compromised his final place in the standings, however it was still an overwhelmingly positive season for Percat.
What we expect next season
After a 2024 season that exceeded external expectations, can we expect Nick Percat and MSR to be featuring towards the front more regularly next year? There is no reason to suggest that we shouldn't, especially with a year of learning under the belt of both team and driver. Team owner Matt Stone has said that a Finals berth for both Percat and teammate Cameron Hill is a realistic goal for 2025, and frankly anything short of that for Percat in particular would be bordering on a disappointment. With Hill also showing massive improvement in 2024, next year could see another step forward, and a potential shot at being one of the final four at the VAILO Adelaide Grand Final.
