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Career-long Holden driver Nick Percat admits the prospect of driving a Ford Supercar next year is “weird” but is undoubtedly the right call for his Walkinshaw Andretti United team.
WAU this month confirmed it would switch to the Blue Oval when the Gen3 era begins in 2023.
Dating back to 2010, Percat has only ever driven Commodores in the Supercars Championship or Super2 Series.
That includes a prior stint with the Walkinshaw squad, winning the 2011 Bathurst 1000 for what was then known as the Holden Racing Team.
“I think the weirdest thing will be on all our team kit and stuff seeing the Ford logo, driving a Ford road car and race car, and all that,” Percat told Speedcafe.com.
The 33-year-old however said the announcement was far from a surprise to him, and made sense given Holden’s decline and the chance to secure factory support.
“For me a big thing is just having that factory support from a manufacturer who wants to help all the teams, not just one,” he added.
“Back when it was the Holden Racing Team, they supported HRT, Brad Jones Racing, Lucas Dumbrell [Motorsport] got support; there was a lot of support there.
“With Ford, it looks like how it used to be. It’s a different colour and a different brand but it’s probably more what we’re used to. So yeah, I’m excited.
“They [General Motors] made their choice that they’re only supporting one team [Triple Eight Race Engineering] so it was easy.”
Percat also praised the response of fans on both sides of the divide.
“The Ford fans have been amazing. They have been really welcoming,” he said.
“I think 90 percent of the Holden fans understand it’s not Holden anymore, it’s a GM product, and they see the bigger picture which is quite nice.
“I think 90 percent of people have been pretty good; you get a few saying ‘look, I’m too tied to the red side, I’m not going to keep following you’.
“I think it has been a pretty good response.”
Percat and WAU team-mate Chaz Mostert will be looking to bounce back from a torrid Perth SuperNight this weekend as Round 5 of the Supercars season unfolds at Winton Motor Raceway.
