MSR forging its own path from T8 inspiration

The Yatala-based squad recorded its second ever race win in the Repco Supercars Championship courtesy of Nick Percat in the final encounter of the MSS Security Melbourne SuperSprint.

Percat cited the influence of Triple Eight as a factor in the qualities of MSR, while Matt Stone is, of course, the son and nephew of the legendary Stone Brothers, Jim and Ross respectively.

“It’s all of these things,” Matt Stone told Speedcafe.

“It’s hard not to look at Triple Eight at the benchmark, especially when they’re doing what they’re doing this year, and obviously there’s the lineage, that I grew up in a very successful Queensland race team.

“But, I think we’re also growing our own way of doing things.

“We’re getting good continuity of staff, the key positions in our engineering and our senior mechanical roles are becoming very consistent with the team and long-term, and we’re able to really start building on the smaller practices.

“I think that’s what we look at in Triple Eight, is that the strength of the organisation is what gives the strength in the cars.

“So, as we continue to build our processes and build our team up, we try to emulate them but also do it in our own fashion.”

Among those engineering staff are Jack Belotti, whom Percat has inherited on what is now the #10 Bendix Camaro after being assigned to Jack Le Brocq in 2023.

MSR has been a full customer of Triple Eight over the years, and hence the exposure to the Triple Eight way, although it built its own Gen3 race cars.

Percat cited the lessons from the Banyo powerhouse, as well as a hands-on approach from the owner – and his famous father – which are key ingredients in MSR.

“To be honest, the moment I got to do a couple of laps in Cam’s [Hill, team-mate] car at the rookie day, and I drove out the gate and got to Turn 3 at Ipswich, I went, ‘Oh my god, this is going to be a good year,’” said the 2011 Bathurst 1000 winner, who spent the previous two seasons at Walkinshaw Andretti United.

“It’s been amazing, to be honest, and they just do a good job. They’re just racers; all they want to do is win races and go well.

“Matt’s very realistic of where he is with the team. He actually has a lot of praise for the way the Red Bull [Triple Eight] guys go about it and the processes in place, and he sees what makes a very good team.

“I think the thing that makes us strong is you have just core racers in there. We’ve got Jimmy Stone building uprights, Matt’s on the tools… We had a couple little cracks in things on my car [at Albert Park] and he’s welding that up.

“You know the old saying of good management, you flip the pyramid upside down, and they’re on the ground with the troops. That’s what Matt is, which is really good to see.

“I think that’s what makes him a good team and it fits me well because, obviously, I appreciate hard work.

“I think he sees what Triple Eight do because they’ve been around each other for a bit now and he just sees that’s the level and that’s what he strives for as well.

“So, I think it’s pretty cool what he’s up to MSR.”