Waters survives Sydney slip and slide for three-peat

The Tickford Racing driver completed a three-peat, clinching every qualifying session and race at the Sydney 500.

Waters won the final race of the weekend by six seconds over Triple Eight Race Engineering’s Will Brown while Chaz Mostert climbed from 10th to third for Walkinshaw Andretti United.

“How awesome is that? Such a mega weekend and such an awesome way to start 2025,” said Waters.

“I thought we were going to have fast cars this weekend but not that fast. Awesome to convert it when you’ve actually got a fast car.

“I can’t thank my team enough for giving me something this good. Pit stops were good. We executed well.

“I knew they were going to be lying to me, they always do. Tell me what I want to hear. But I had a really good margin there I could back it off with five to go and bring it home.

“Even when it was wet at the end there my car was really fast. The rain was actually nice, it cooled the cabin temperatures down a little bit.”

Off the line, Feeney got the jump on Waters but in the second phase, the #6 Ford Mustang edged ahead of the #88 Chevrolet Camaro.

Waters wagged the tail through Turn 1 and with the inside line maintained his lead into Turn 2.

Brown in the #1 car capitalised early, getting to the inside of Feeney at Turn 2 before hanging around the outside of Turn 3 and 4 to give him the inside line into Turn 5. With that, he secured second place.

At the end of Lap 1, it was Waters from Brown, Feeney, Dick Johnson Racing’s Brodie Kostecki and James Golding for PremiAir Racing.

The opening stanza of the race was a relatively uneventful affair, but in the back of everyone’s mind was the impending weather from the west of Sydney.

The field made it to the first round of pit stops before the weather arrived. Feeney was the first of the front-runners to pit on Lap 17 and Waters responded on Lap 18 with Brown in tow.

Brad Jones Racing driver Bryce Fullwood ran the longest of anyone in the first stint. The #14 Middy’s Racing Camaro finally pitted on Lap 24.

With that, Waters returned to the lead of the race and led Brown by four seconds. Feeney was third and a further 1.6 seconds in arrears. Mostert was fourth and Matt Payne fifth. Kostecki dropped to sixth ahead of Golding, Will Davison, Anton De Pasquale, and Jack Le Brocq.

As the laps wound down, Waters continued to extend his advantage. With 20 laps to go, that lead stood at seven seconds over Brown while the gap to Feeney was stable at a second-and-a-half.

After a relatively uneventful first half of the race, Le Brocq found himself in a tangle with Golding at Turn 4. The pair overlapped and Le Brocq was escorted into the grass before Turn 5.

When you need a full tank but only have time for a quick top up 😅

Follow all the action from the Thrifty Sydney 500 with our Live Feed here 👉 https://t.co/qyu6AAgclo#RepcoSC #Supercars pic.twitter.com/I9yXSk9yTl

— Supercars (@supercars) February 23, 2025

Before the rain could arrive, the second round of pit stops began in earnest.

Mostert was the first high-profile driver to pit. The rest came and went without much drama for the front-runners. However, the same couldn’t be said for Matt Stone Racing’s Cameron Hill who left his pit with the fuel churn still attached.

With just over 10 laps to go, there was a clumsy moment between Feeney and Erebus Motorsport rookie Cooper Murray.

Murray skated over the gravel trap at Turn 9 and returned in front of Feeney, which cast him well wide of the apex. Mostert capitalised on the drama and snagged what was effectively third place away.

DRAMA BETWEEN FEENEY & MURRAY 💨

Follow all the action from the Thrifty Sydney 500 with our Live Feed here 👉 https://t.co/qyu6AAgclo#RepcoSC #Supercars pic.twitter.com/InvlkGtmap

— Supercars (@supercars) February 23, 2025

The kerfuffle continued with Murray and Feeney colliding at the last turn, which sent the #99 Camaro into a spin.

Murray was given a 15-second penalty for the moment while Feeney escaped punishment despite spinning Murray.

With 11 laps to go, light rain began to fall. Fans on the embankment began to scramble while the pit lane came alive as heads turned skyward. Still, Waters led to the tune of eight seconds.

Fullwood was the wildcard in the leading pack having only pitted once while the rest of the field had stopped twice. In the end, he pitted with eight laps to go before it got wet enough.

Despite the persistent drizzle, the cars remained on track. The times wavered only a few seconds initially but blew out towards the cross-over point as the chequered flag neared.

Waters wins in the wet!#RepcoSC #Supercars pic.twitter.com/Poyi00I8Ww

— Supercars (@supercars) February 23, 2025

While Waters stayed the course at the head of the field, the battle between Mostert, Feeney, and Kostecki was a thriller.

Feeney looked like he might displace Mostert but soon the Red Bull race was played defence.

On the penultimate lap, Kostecki pulled off an excellent pass around the outside of Feeney at Turn 6.

Feeney tried to return serve but couldn’t find a way back by. That was the way it stayed. Waters won by 6.2 seconds over Brown while Mostert was a further three seconds in arrears.

Kostecki and Feeney completed the top five while Payne, De Pasquale, Golding, Davison, and Le Brocq completed the top 10.

Waters leads the drivers’ championship with 300 points to his name.

“It’s massive. Having that speed and momentum and points on the board, it’s a real confidence boost to everyone,” said Waters.

“The hard work they’ve put in on the off-season has paid off.

“Just being able to back it up each race. Having a fast car in all conditions, whether it’s quali or night or dry.

“It’s been fast all of the time which is really positive. Had some amazing races last night, I was happy today was a little less chaotic. Cool weekend.”

The Supercars season continues at the Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix on March 13-16.

Results: Repco Supercars Championship Sydney 500, Race 3