Nick Percat will leave Walkinshaw Andretti United at the end of the 2023 season, bringing an end to his second stint with the former factory Holden-turned Ford Mustang team.
It’s not yet known if he will race in Supercars for a rival team in 2024, with Ryan Wood tipped to drive the #2 Mobil 1 NTI Ford Mustang next season.
The 34-year-old made mention of his departure during live broadcast interviews at The Bend Motorsport Park on the weekend, ahead of the Clayton-based outfit officially confirming the news with a statement today.
“My time with the WAU family has come to an end and I wish we could have had the results we both wanted and expected,” the Percat said in the statement.
“I have loved my time working alongside Chaz [Mostert] and it’s cool to say we will be lifelong friends. To the team, thank you for the tireless effort and hours spent trying to unlock the speed from Car #2. [The] Adelaide 500 is something I’ll never forget.
“To the WAU fans, you have been truly amazing, the open arms you had for me re-joining was special and the endless support has been the best. Looking forward to finishing the year with a bang.”
Percat was supported by Walkinshaw Racing in Formula Ford in 2007 and made his Supercars debut in one of the team’s VE Commodores at the 2010 Phillip Island 500.
In 2011, he won the Bathurst 1000 as a Great Race rookie, alongside Garth Tander in one of the squad’s Holden Racing Team entries.
The South Australian would land a Supercars Championship seat of his own in 2014, in the Walkinshaw Racing entry underpinned by the James Rosenberg REC, before a two-year stint at Lucas Dumbrell Motorsport.
Percat re-joined WAU from Brad Jones Racing for the 2022 Supercars season, with a highlight the team’s one-two on the Saturday of the Adelaide 500 – an emotional result for the team at what was the last main-game event for the Holden brand, which it had been the factory team for from 1990 to 2016.
Percat currently sits 21st in the standings on 819 points, with team-mate Mostert having led early in the season to now be fifth and the highest-placed Mustang driver on 1582 points.
Issues have plagued Percat, including the dramatic engine bay fire at the Australian Grand Prix that helped prompt changes to the engine bay layout of all Gen3 Supercars, both Mustang and Camaro.
Yet results themselves have been few and far between, with yesterday’s Race 22 at The Bend – where Percat finished fourth – his best result since the fairytale second place in at Adelaide last year.
“We want to thank Nick for being a big part of our team for the past two seasons, but also his entire time with us over the journey,” said team co-owner Ryan Walkinshaw.
“Of course, we both hoped to achieve more together, but with four rounds remaining this year, including the Bathurst 1000, Sandown 500 and Adelaide 500, we are all pushing to finish on a high. Everyone here wishes him all the best for the future.”
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