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The outgoing WAU driver opened up on his unsuccessful stint at the squad to the KTM Summer Grill.
He said that the 2023 season was particularly difficult, to the point where he genuinely considered walking away from Supercars once it became clear he wouldn’t be retained by WAU.
In the end, it was talking with the young drivers he works with through his karting team that re-motivated him to do a deal with Matt Stone Racing.
“This year was my worst season ever,” he said. “It’s the first time in my career, from seven-year-old go karting Nick to now, that I haven’t got a trophy.
“It was tough. Far from ideal.
“On the flip side, I’ve got good people around me. Even with the karting team, the kids love it. They keep you fairly grounded, and it reminds me that when I was their age I dreamt of being in a Supercar.
“To be honest, it was a few of them that kept on the grid for next year. I was close to being done. But when you look at them, and other people around me, and they go, ‘there’s 24 seats on the grid, you’re very very lucky to be doing what you’re doing’, it’s good motivation to get that deal done with MSR.
“I had people wanting me to drive, it was more that I wasn’t that keen to do it. It wasn’t the most thrilling couple of years, so yeah, I was like, ‘you know what, maybe I’ll get more enjoyment out of helping the young guys come through and mentor the young karters’.
“There was definitely a point when I’d had enough of being bashed into the ground.
“But after Tailem Bend, a couple of weeks after, I had some dialogue with Matt [Stone]. Tailem Bend showed I still can drive, I finished fourth there, and when the car was right it was no stress.
“So I jumped on a plane, went up [to MSR] and within 25 minutes of being there I was like, ‘this has got the right feel about it, and I want to have a crack and see if we can do a deal’. Within a hour it was done and I got back on the plane excited to be continuing.
“On the way up I wasn’t sure. That says a lot about Matt and the culture of his team.”
For more from Nick Percat watch the full KTM Summer Grill episode.
