WATERS’ NEW TICKFORD CONTRACT

Cameron Waters new Tickford contract – Photo: LAT

RISING STAR Cameron Waters has shown his faith in Tickford Racing by committing to a new “multi-year” contract that could see him complete a decade’s service with the team.

By BRUCE NEWTON

The 25-year old from Mildura in far north-west Victoria could have served out the option the team had on his services for 2020, but instead both parties agreed to scrap that and negotiate a new long-term agreement.

While neither Tickford nor Waters would confirm the details, it is understood to be up to four years, with at least one year of that an option – potentially tying him to the Ford squad through 2024.

The new deal was announced a week out from the Bathurst 1000 alongside a “multi-year” renewal by Monster Energy, Waters’ primary sponsor since he graduated full-time to the main game in 2016.

Waters told Auto Action that Tickford’s concerted efforts to rebuild since a horror 2018 helped convince him to significantly extend his stay at the team.

“I would probably be in a different position if we were back again in the position we were in 2018,” he said. “But credit to Tickford, they have done an awesome job to turn it around.

“I am happy here at Tickford, obviously the cars are going much better this year and they are getting better and better.

“My intentions were to stay and they were pretty keen to keep me as well, so there was no need to look elsewhere.”

Waters now heads to the Bathurst 1000 with new co-driver Michael Caruso, looking to improve on his previous best finish of fourth in 2016 with Jack Le Brocq.

“I’m absolutely pumped to go to Bathurst,” he said. “It’s a place where I usually drive pretty well and go pretty well at. We’re going up there to give it our best shot and try to win it.”

Beyond that, he is determined to become a championship contender and regular winner in the years ahead.

“I don’t do this just to drive around and make numbers up, and neither does the team nor my sponsors,” Waters declared. “We are going out there to try and challenge for wins and podiums and, hopefully, championships in the future.”

Snaring Waters long-term is important for Tickford in terms of continuity as 2014 Bathurst winner Chaz Mostert is moving to Walkinshaw Andretti United, with Le Brocq replacing him.

The Bottle-O Mustang driver Lee Holdsworth’s future is also uncertain for 2020, with Tickford Super2 driver Thomas Randle his potential replacement.

“Retaining Cam and Monster Energy have been key priorities for us this year, so we’re extremely happy to tick those boxes,” Tickford Racing CEO Tim Edwards said.

“Cam’s been with us since 2014 and has risen from a pretty raw youngster to the regular podium challenger he is today, and we know he’s a fighting chance wherever we go, so we’re ecstatic to keep him in our camp.”

If the deal is four years and is fully activated, Waters will race for Tickford until at 2023 and bring up 10 years’ service. He spent two years in the Dunlop Super2 Series driving for the team – winning the title in 2015 – before stepping up to the main game full-time in 2016.

He has scored one win so far – the 2017 Sandown 500 with Richie Stanaway. This year in the new Ford Mustang, he has scored one pole and two other front row starts and six podium finishes. He is seventh in the drivers’ championship, but is within 200 points of fifth- positioned Jamie Whincup.

Waters’ strong showing followed his worst season when he finished 16th last year as Tickford struggled to extract performance from its four ageing FG X Falcons.

The team underwent a significant pit lane personnel reshuffle for 2019. Among other changes, Waters’ engineer Brad Wischusen was promoted to look after the engineering department and Sam Potter took over the Monster Energy Mustang after working with the departed Stanaway in 2018.

Waters has been publicly vocal all year, rejecting suggestions in all forms of media that Tickford’s lift has come from the arrival of the Mustang alone.

“It’s not just been a body over the top that’s given us the speed in 2019, it’s been a massive raft of changes which has got us where we are,” he asserted. “You saw the back half of 2018, I qualified in the top 10 most races and finished there, and that’s when things started to happen for us.

“We have carried that momentum into this year and they are continually improving and just chipping away at it. It won’t all just happen overnight, but they are moving in the right direction and that’s all you can ask for.”

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