Waters outlines new approach after Bathurst stumble
Cam Waters 192 points off lead heading to Melbourne
Tickford Racing driver finished 22nd, 16th in Bathurst
Waters battled ill health, poor luck at season-opener
Cam Waters isn’t interested in looking at the championship standings as the Tickford Racing driver aims to rebuild his 2024 campaign in Melbourne.
The Tickford star is 192 points behind Red Bull Ampol Racing rival Will Brown heading to the MSS Security Melbourne SuperSprint, having endured a torrid season-opener in Bathurst.
Undone by ill health, Waters finished 22nd in Race 1 after a broken spindle led to a wheel coming loose, just after yellow flags consigned him to 20th on the grid.
Come Sunday, and Waters raced from 18th to 16th as teammate Thomas Randle powered from seventh to fourth.
In the wake of criticism, Randle backed Waters to bounce back immediately in Melbourne, telling Supercars.com that the 11-time Supercars race winner “knows how drive”.
Waters himself is well aware of his own situation, but with a maximum of 3350 points left to win, the #6 Monster Energy Ford pilot's new approach is simple: don't look at the points table, because the points will come.
"I'm not interested in the points situation at the moment,” Waters told Supercars.com.
“Sure, Bathurst was a bad weekend, but it's a really long year. We will just focus on being up the front, finishing races, and getting as many points as possible.
“If we do that, I think after a few rounds, the order will have shaken up a little bit more and I'll back closer to the front.
“It’s about focusing on each race as it comes.”
Waters is set to shift into a new chassis, with the 29-year-old shaking down a new Tickford Mustang at Winton Motor Raceway on Tuesday.
The 2015 Super2 champion is bracing for a dramatic Melbourne round, which is headlined by four sprint races without pit stops.
However, Waters suggested the team learned a great deal from Randle’s impressive Sunday performance in Bathurst, with the team plotting an upswing in performance behind the scenes.
“Obviously Bathurst was not a great weekend. Everything that could go wrong, went wrong. I was pretty sick as well,” Waters said.
“But, the vibe of the team is still pretty upbeat, and everyone’s working hard to make sure we bounce back at the Grand Prix.
“We’re looking forward, but there were good moments. Tom did an awesome job on Sunday in Bathurst, so that was great and good to learn from that one as well.
“We'll take those learnings into the Grand Prix. Obviously Grand Prix is a bit of a different event, but back on Soft tyre as well. But it’ll be a tough weekend with no pit stops and things like that.
“So, a much different weekend, just gonna have to really rely on trying to roll out strong. I think we can do that.”
The 2024 Repco Supercars Championship will resume at the MSS Security Melbourne SuperSprint on March 21-24.
