Waters 'didn't have any other choice' with clutch chicane run
Cam Waters "didn't have any other choice" with final-lap chicane run
Waters claimed Race 25 victory after a tense showdown with Shane van Gisbergen
Tickford star outlasted Triple Eight rival van Gisbergen to win by 0.19s
A magical final-lap run through the beach chicane secured Boost Mobile Gold Coast 500 victory for Cam Waters after a tense showdown with Shane van Gisbergen.
Waters outlasted van Gisbergen in Race 25 to claim victory by 0.19s, with the Tickford Racing driver scoring his first win since Newcastle in March.
Van Gisbergen reeled in Waters in the closing laps and crossed the line just 0.4s behind the #6 Monster Energy Ford at the control line with 2.96km to run.
The reigning champion got right to Waters’ bumper at Turn 4, and the two cars were nearly line astern en route to the beach chicane.
With everything on the line, Waters through his Ford through the iconic bends of the chicane, and opened up a margin that proved enough to keep van Gisbergen at bay.
Given the late speed of the #97 Red Bull Ampol Camaro, Waters knew a bold chicane run was his only chance of holding off his rival.
“I didn’t have any other choice,” he said of the final lap beach chicane run.
“He was on my rear bumper, and I knew I had to send it through there. The car was pretty good through the chicanes, I think that’s probably what allowed me to get so far into the race without a bad sportsmanship flag.
“I thought he was going to get me out of [Turn 4], my drive was no good, but I got out and sent the dog through the back chicane.
“Somehow I got through the other side, and got a few car lengths, and took the pressure off in the last sector. So much relief.”
For Waters, it was an emotional win over a year in the making, given his Newcastle win was settled overnight due to a double Triple Eight disqualification.
Waters last crossed the line first in a race in Darwin last June, with Saturday’s result just the 10th victory of the Mildura-born driver’s career.
It came after a run of outs in 2023, headlined by a fire while leading in Darwin, being hit by a stray wheel at Sandown, and a crash for co-driver James Moffat in Bathurst.
All told, Waters was ninth in the points heading to Surfers Paradise, with the feeling on Saturday summed up by one word: “Finally."
It was also a victory for Tickford CEO and Team Principal Tim Edwards, who will depart the team at season’s end.
"We’ve had so much bad luck, there were things going wrong, didn’t think it was ever going to end, to be honest,” Waters continued.
"We were fast during that whole period, we knew it was going to turn around eventually. From the moment we rolled out, the car was pretty fast.”
On the relief of victory, he added: “This year’s been so tough for Tickford and Ford fans. We kept our heads down and kept chipping away.
“I wanted to get Timmy a couple of wins before he departed. The pressure was on, and the pressure’s off now we got him a win."
