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Team co-owner Ryan Walkinshaw will neither confirm nor deny Nick Percat’s future at Walkinshaw Andretti United.
Percat is said to be doomed as WAU chases Cam Waters to join Chaz Mostert in a Ford superteam next year.
Walkinshaw has ostensibly left the door open for a renewal, claiming no decision has been made on the driver of the #2 Mustang.
But all evidence indicates that Percat is out at the end of this season after struggling against Mostert since his return to the Clayton squad last year.
Informed sources maintain that the 2011 Bathurst 1000 co-winner has already been told his services will not be required in 2024.
It is known WAU has put in a bid for Waters, who is at odds with Tickford Racing over a claimed iron-clad option to retain him for at least another year.
Amid the rampant speculation, Ryan Walkinshaw – back from overseas for the Townsville 500 – refused to engage in conjecture about Percat’s future.
“Look, I’m not going to talk about any driver movements or any rumours, or any speculation that you folks or anyone else have written over the past couple of months,” Walkinshaw told Speedcafe.
“We’re focused at the moment on getting the best performance we can on-track.
“Currently, we haven’t made a decision on what we’re doing with a driver for Car #2. And when we make that decision, we’ll let everyone know in due course.”
While that seems to suggest the door is still open for Percat staying, Walkinshaw deflected when pressed on whether the seat was up for grabs.
“We’re looking at all options available to us, as you would do every single time you have a driver that’s out of contract,” he declared.
“When we make the decision, we’ll let you guys know.”
Asked, hypothetically, how he thought a Mostert/Waters combination would work, Walkinshaw didn’t take the bait.
“Again, I’m not going to go and start jumping into speculative questions like that,” he replied.
“You know that, all right?”
Percat was signed by WAU on the expectation that he would push Mostert, based on his regular top 10 pace with Brad Jones Racing from 2018-‘21.
Although he has recently shown glimpses of his former form, his generally lacklustre performances have frustrated him and the team.
Many claim WAU is too Chaz-centric, failing to adapt its cars to Percat’s different driving style.
The bottom line is that the partnership hasn’t worked and both sides have accepted there’s no future in the relationship.
Percat, 34, is facing an uncertain prospect, unlikely to gain a full-time Supercars drive elsewhere.
He appears resigned to becoming a sought-after endurance race co-driver.
Highly touted, the Adelaide-born multiple race winner’s puzzling lack of speed and miserable results have defied WAU’s high expectations on re-signing him alongside Mostert.
Percat co-drove Garth Tander to victory in the 2011 Bathurst 1000 with the then-Walkinshaw-run Holden Racing Team at his first attempt, but his difficult nature marginalised him.
He famously scored Lucas Dumbrell Motorsport’s only win in the chaotic 2016 Adelaide 500, then starred in two victories for BJR at Sydney Motorsport Park in 2020.
His return to Clayton in 2022 simply hasn’t delivered on its promise.
Percat’s new FA Australia kart racing initiative from next year suggests car racing team ownership is his ultimate goal.
Assuming his WAU exit, his replacement is up in the air.
Waters is the target, but he is also linked to replacing Shane van Gisbergen at Triple Eight as soon as next year.
No one in the Supercars paddock believes SVG will stay following his Chicago NASCAR street race success, opening big offers to switch to big-league American stock car racing.
If Waters defects to Red Bull Ampol Racing or, as is still a possibility, he renews with Tickford Racing for another year, WAU has Kiwi Super2 star Ryan Wood as a fallback option.
NTI is set to end its backing of the #2 WAU Mustang, with Wood bringing Mobil 1 NZ backing.
That would align with WAU’s long-standing team support from Mobil 1 oil, the Australasian distribution of which is out of NZ.
Wood is also a candidate to be ‘loaned’ to Team 18 to replace Scott Pye, who is also widely regarded as being on the outer despite strong performances.
Suddenly, the Supercars ‘silly season’ for driver moves in 2024 is a whole lot more interesting.
