WAU makes historic Ford debut at Winton

By Thomas Miles

Date posted: 15 February 2023

Walkinshaw Andretti United (WAU) registered its first ever laps with a Ford badge at Winton today during a busy Supercars Gen3 test session.

WAU’s pair of Ford Mustangs were just two of 11 Gen3 Supercars on show at the 3km Victorian circuit as the road to Newcastle shifts gears.

After releasing the new white liveries Nick Percat and Chaz Mostert will campaign in the 2023 Supercars Championship, the famous Clayton team made its on-track debut for the “Blue Oval”.

Joining them was fellow leading Ford squad Tickford Racing, shaking down James Courtney’s new look car #5 and Declan Fraser’s clean-skinned #56 machine.

Grove Racing also rolled out its #26 car to be driven by David Reynolds, while Brad Jones Racing and Erebus Motorsport completed full test sessions with each of their respective cars to blow the total out to 11.

Nick Percat and Chaz Mostert roll out of the garage to mark the historic first appearance of a WAU Ford. Image: Supercars.Com

But all eyes were on WAU, as it completed a 33-year first having previously been the flagship factory supported Holden Racing Team from 1990-2016 and team principal Bruce Stewart was buzzing after the historic moment.

“It was super exciting because it has been a long time coming,” he told Supercars.Com.

“It was great to have our new cars released and awesome for the guys (Percat and Mostert) to feel how they go on track and how we can look to improve the car.

“This has been a huge hump and I am so proud of the team.”

Lead driver of car #25 Mostert made his return to Ford, having previously driven with the brand at Dick Johnson Racing and Tickford from 2013-19.

Chaz Mostert flies out of the final corner in his new Gen3 Ford Mustang at Winton. Image: Supercars.Com

He said the new car has ticked all the boxes after the “awesome” feeling of driving the first ever WAU Ford Supercar.

“Today was about running around doing a lot of system checks and making sure the cars run faultlessly,” he said.

“So far so good, so it was pretty awesome to see the first WAU Ford roll around the track.”

Not only was it a historic first in blue colours for WAU, but also for car #2 driver Percat.

Nick Percat driving a Ford Gen3 Supercar for the first time at Winton.

Percat made his Supercars debut back in 2011 with notable highlights winning Bathurst on first attempt and walking on water to take the 2016 Adelaide 500 crown.

But all of the memorable moments created during his 221-race career have been in a Holden, so the South Australian struggled to believe he was behind the wheel of a Ford.

“It is pretty crazy to think WAU rolled out Fords this morning,” Percat said.

“When they rolled out I thought ‘wow this has really happened’.

“The cars have run well. We are not interested in lap times, it is just about finding out things the car does ahead of Sydney Motorsport Park testing.

“It has all been smooth sailing.”

In addition to the main-game steerers Mostert and Percat, their respective co-drivers Lee Holdsworth and Fabian Coulthard were also on hand at Winton to get a taste of the new Gen3 machine.

WAU and the other Supercars teams will continue their testing programs until arriving at Sydney Motorsport Park for the official test next Wednesday.

For more of the latest motorsport news pick up the latest issue of AUTO ACTION.

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WAU makes historic Ford debut at Winton

After releasing the new white liveries Nick Percat and Chaz Mostert will campaign in the 2023 Supercars Championship, the famous Clayton team made its on-track debut for the “Blue Oval”.

But all eyes were on WAU, as it completed a 33-year first having previously been the flagship factory supported Holden Racing Team from 1990-2016 and team principal Bruce Stewart was buzzing after the historic moment.

Lead driver of car #25 Mostert made his return to Ford, having previously driven with the brand at Dick Johnson Racing and Tickford from 2013-19.

Not only was it a historic first in blue colours for WAU, but also for car #2 driver Percat.

In addition to the main-game steerers Mostert and Percat, their respective co-drivers Lee Holdsworth and Fabian Coulthard were also on hand at Winton to get a taste of the new Gen3 machine.

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