WAU EVOLUTION REAPING REWARDS

Walkinshaw Andretti United’s recent success is the product of a project spanning several years, according to Team Owner Ryan Walkinshaw.

Chaz Mostert took advantage of his favoured wet conditions to win the second race of the Supercars Championship opener after finishing on the podium in Race 1, completing a strong weekend for the Victorian team despite the struggles of teammate Nick Percat.

A win in the 2021 Bathurst 1000 had people sitting up and taking notice of WAU, but Ryan Walkinshaw believes Mostert’s win at Sydney Motorsport Park says just as much about the team’s improvement.

“Coming to a track like this is a bit of a bogey track. Last year in the four events here we were pretty hit or miss, probably more misses than hits,” Walkinshaw said.

“We came into this weekend hoping we could get both cars in the top 10 – we would be happy with that.

“Coming here and being relatively consistent all the way through practice sessions and qualifying, coming away with a win today and a podium yesterday is really, really exciting.

“So yeah, it’s a long season ahead … not going to get too excited. But it’s nice to be in this position, particularly after this event.”

Mostert now sits atop the Supercars Championship standings for the first time in his career, which is a testament to the efforts of his whole team over a sustained period in the eyes of Walkinshaw.

“We’ve been working pretty hard in the last few years, building up and we’ve always felt that we could do more,” Walkinshaw said.

“You’ve got to show people that you’re doing something and get a couple of good people in to show that you’ve improved and that gives other people down pitlane a little bit of confidence that maybe they want to go and join this team.

“We went and got Chaz in, Adam Deborre, ‘Shippy’ (Andrew McPherson), Geoff (Slater) over the last few years.

“It’s been a lot of work and it’s just great to see these guys getting rewards.

“It’s been a journey and hopefully it’s not finished.”

WAU will look to maintain its momentum into the second round of the season, which will be held in Tasmania at the end of the month.

A quick turnaround in results for Percat will be a focus for the team – he currently sits 11th in the standings.

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