After taking Cindric for a hot lap on Friday at the Sandown 500, Waters rode shotgun during Monday’s ride day at the Melbourne circuit.
It offered Waters an up close and personal view of Cindric in action, who Waters said got up to speed quickly.
“Austin, first up, is doing great for a car that’s obviously so foreign to him,” Waters told Speedcafe.
“He’s on the right-hand side of the car, he’s right foot braking, which he doesn’t usually do, and he’s adapting pretty well, pretty quickly.
“We let him do some laps and get comfortable in the car and he’s asking lots of questions.
“I went for a ride with him, which was cool. He’s picking up really quick.
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“I think he felt right at home sitting on the left-hand side of the car when I was driving. I didn’t feel as at home on the left-hand side of the car,” Waters chuckled.
“The first thing I noticed was he’s actually just straight into it and up to speed fairly well.
“It’s just perfecting that right foot braking and the downshifts, and that just comes with time.
“So far he’s, he’s doing it pretty well straight up, so just a bit of finesse really, which will come.
“After today and two test days I think he’ll be pretty well ready for Adelaide. It’s cool to see him progressing through the day as well.”
Austin Cindric reacts to ‘really weird’ first Supercars laps
If there is any Supercars driver on the grid who is qualified to talk about transitioning from one series to the other, it’s Waters.
In 2024, he drove an RFK Racing Ford Mustang in the NASCAR Cup Series at Sonoma in a one-off start.
Now it’s Cindric’s doing the switch, jumping in the Tickford Racing Ford Mustang for an Adelaide cameo.
Having experienced both cars, Waters said Cindric’s toughest task is understanding the subtle differences between the V8 platforms.
“With NASCAR, a lot of those guys all left-foot brake, whereas we all right foot brake,” said Waters.
“That’s because of the aero and looking after the rear tyres is the reason why we do it. He’s got to get his head around that, and he is.
“Our cars are a lot lighter, move around a lot, probably more than their cars, they’re very stiff and heavy.
“I know what he’s going through from obviously me going to their (Next Gen) cars, but he’s adapting. He’s an awesome driver, he’s raced all different things, so he’ll work it out.”
As for expectations, Waters didn’t want to speak on Cindric’s behalf. However, the #6 Monster Mustang driver said he liked what he saw.
That’s aided by the American’s versatility, which includes a resume of sports car and GT racing as well as experience in the previous generation of Supercars in testing.
“I haven’t really spoken to him about what his expectations are, but he’s obviously raced a lot of different cars, which will help him a lot,” said Waters.
“I’ve noticed that already, just jumping in the car, how quickly he’s kind of adapted to the car straight away.
“The amount of miles he can do before Adelaide will be really good for him, as well as doing three races.
“You get your short race on Friday, blow the cobwebs out, have a think about it, and then be able to come back Saturday and even Sunday.
“He’ll keep building on it each day, which will be really good for him. I think he’ll surprise a fair few people.”
Cindric will begin his testing program in earnest at The Bend Motorsport Park in the coming days before his Supercars debut at the Adelaide Grand Final on November 27-30.
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