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Tim Edwards has offered a less than subtle indication of the Supercars future of Cameron Waters, and possibly the rest of the Tickford Racing driver quartet.
The 28-year-old became one of the key question marks in the Supercars silly season once Triple Eight Race Engineering locked its full-time driver line-up into place with the re-signing of Shane van Gisbergen alongside Broc Feeney for at least 2024, and Dick Johnson Racing is in a similar situation with respect to Will Davison and Anton De Pasquale.
Tickford most recently announced a deal with Waters back in October 2021, proclaiming a multi-year agreement with the man whom they fielded to the Dunlop Super2 Series title in 2015.
However, rather than simply exercising an existing option on his services, it was an “all-new arrangement” which took effect in 2022 and, conceivably, could be expiring this year.
On the other hand, Edwards may have exercised an option on Waters already.
“Well, they’re all pretty much under agreements for next year in different ways,” the Tickford Team Principal told reporters from the Ned Whisky Tasmania SuperSprint.
“Some have already had options exercised on them and others have got options that are mine to exercise.”
The Tickford boss did, however, offer a firm “No comment” when asked to clarify whether or not Waters is off-contract.
Less can be inferred about James Courtney, Thomas Randle, or rookie Declan Fraser, although the revelation of sorts is certainly consistent with normal operating procedures at Campbellfield.
Contracts of a minimum two years plus options in Tickford’s favour are hardly unusual, as has been shown with respect to Waters and one its former stars, Chaz Mostert.
In May 2015, the team announced it had triggered an option on the previous year’s Bathurst 1000 winner, only to then proclaim in the following August they had “agreed to tear up” that contract and sign a brand-new, longer-term deal.
Mostert eventually left at the end of 2019 and has been domiciled at Walkinshaw Andretti United ever since, during which time Waters has established himself as Tickford’s team leader.
It would thus be no surprise if Edwards has already snapped up the two-time Bathurst 1000 pole-sitter and two-time championship runner-up.
Courtney is on a multi-year deal which took effect in 2022 and Randle is racing on his original multi-year deal which began in 2021.
Fraser was a relatively late signing “for the 2023 Supercars Championship season”, per Tickford’s January announcement, which suggests a single-year agreement following the premature termination of Jake Kostecki.
Zak Best remains with the squad despite being passed up for promotion from its own Super2 programme in the wake of the Kostecki exit, and will drive one of its Ford Mustangs in the enduros, as will James Moffat, Garry Jacobson, and Tyler Everingham.
