Waters secures Sydney smash

By Thomas Miles

Date posted: 23 February 2025

Not even a late shower could stop Cameron Waters and the Green-Eyed Monster from smashing the Sydney 500 season opener.

As had been the case all weekend, Waters dominated, being unchallenged on his way to a 6s win in the 52-lap finale at Sydney Motorsport Park.

His biggest threat was the elements as drivers faced the task of snaking around a wet track on slicks for the final 10 laps.

But nothing was going to deny Waters from securing his first ever clean sweep, having never scored consecutive wins before in his 278-race career.

Will Brown excelled in the second half of the race to be the clear runner-up ahead of Chaz Mostert, while Broc Feeney fell from third to fifth with Brodie Kostecki sneaking past late in the piece.

The win is the latest emphatic statement of Tickford’s return to being a championship contender, as Waters walks away from Sydney with a maximum haul of 315 points, 60 more than Brown.

“That was such an awesome way to start this season,” Waters said.

“I thought we were going to have fast cars, but not this fast.

“It is great to convert it when you have a fast car and I cannot thank the team enough.”

Stating the “gloves are now off” after Saturday night’s showdown, Feeney tried to take it to Waters off the line and he lived up to his words, getting the better jump before they banged doors going through the fast Turn 1.

They somehow made it through, but as has been the case in all weekend, the Monster Energy Mustang prevailed with the inside line

To make matters worse for Feeney, he was hung out to dry as his teammate Brown stole second.

Further back, a chain of lockups forced Courtney wide, but he carried on.

Feeney and Waters fight for the lead at the start. Image: Peter Norton

All 25 cars made it through safely and with the threat of rain looming, Waters was pushing hard.

He needed just six laps to bolt more than 2s clear of the rest and the pace quickly spread the field with Brown, Feeney and Kostecki all evenly separated by a second each.

The only driver other than Waters to record a 1m31s time in the first stint was Brown.

Golding in fifth could not keep up with them and drifted back with Payne and Le Brocq on his tail.

Further back Stanaway and wildcard Crick were the biggest movers, gaining four spots to rise to 19th and 21st respectively.

Courtney was the first in the lane, but Mostert was the first from the top 10, boxing from eighth on Lap 12 and the undercut worked as he jumped to effective fourth.

The first of the leaders to blink was Feeney from third, while the top two followed a lap later and the status quo remained.

The contest for sixth got willing as Le Brocq and Golding tangled in the right-left section at the top of the circuit.

Despite contact sending the Erebus Camaro mowing the grass on the inside of Turn 5, the positions remained unchanged.

Waters remained just as formidable as he maintained his lead beyond 9s as Kostecki reeled in Mostert.

After number of laps of shadowing, Kostecki made a lunge at the final corner of the 34th lap. It was tight, but Kostecki squeezed by.

Behind them Fullwood and Allen were having a similarly brutal battle, but they stayed on the track with the BJR driver snaring ninth.

The pass was the sign for WAU to call Mostert in, sparking the second chain of stops as teams opted for dries with the rain not arriving.

Brown boxed a lap later, soon followed by his teammate and leader Waters.

Cam Hill’s fuel churn is removed by a triple Eight crew member. Image: Peter Norton

Whilst the Tickford driver retained a commanding 9s lead, there was a switch between the Triple Eight teammates with Brown not only jumping Feeney, but also being a further 5s up the road.

Further pain was to arrive for Feeney as a scuffle with the lapped Murray became his latest blow.

As the Triple Eight driver tried to pass Murray at the final corner, the #99 ran wide and forced both cars off.

The big winner was Mostert as he saw an opportunity to dive-bomb down the inside and further displace the #88.

Feeney released his frustrations by spinning the rookie on corner exit.

Hill’s stop did not go to plan, being the first unlucky driver of the year to get his fuel churn stuck.

Fullwood and Le Brocq were the last drivers to stay out and play the rain card, but their teams finally blinked on Laps 42 and 45 respectively, seeing the #9 fall to 11th and the #14 to 17th.

Interestingly the rain finally arrived moments after Erebus serviced the #9, but it was not heavy enough for BJR to persist.

Whilst it was never heavier than a shower, the conditions still created an awkward final seven laps.

With 15s separating the top three, all eyes were on Mostert and Feeney, who were running nose to tail.

The pressure was on the #25 as the WAU Mustang looked a lot less settled in the mixed conditions, but the release was coming soon.

Kostecki quickly joined the picture as he came alive in the wet, cruising past Payne and catching the struggling Mostert and Feeney.

With just three to go the surface turned dark and wet, creating some seriously sketchy moments on slicks.

Kostecki hounded Feeney lap after lap and finally sensed his moment on the penultimate tour.

Having got a good run coming out of Turn 5, Kostecki elected to take the outside line Verstappen style and it paid off handsomely.

The Triple Eight driver threatened to fight back at the Turn 2, but the DJR driver held on.

The battle let Mostert off the hook and he was safe in third, while Waters completed a perfect weekend.

Image: Peter Norton Epic Sports Photography

Supercars 2025 Round 1 Sydney 500 Race 3 results

2025 Sydney 500

Practice 1: A. De Pasquale 1:30.0226 2: D. Reynolds +0.4742 3: J. Courtney +0.5039

Qualifying 1: C. Waters 1:28.6968 2: B. Feeney +0.2544 3: M. Payne +0.4559

Race 1: C. Waters 2: C. Mostert 3: T. Randle

Qualifying: 1 C. Waters 1:28.8998 2: B. Feeney +0.2187 3: M. Payne +0.4045

Shootout: 1 C. Waters 1:29.1362 2: B. Feeney 1:29.3630 3: C. Mostert 1:29.3997

Race 2: C. Waters 2: B. Feeney +0.0308 3: W. Brown +0.1996

R3 Qualifying: 1 C. Waters 1:29.2090 2 B. Feeney +0.0928 3 B. Kostecki +0.1666

Shootout: 1 C. Waters 1:29.6107 2: B. Feeney +0.1092 3: B. Kostecki +0.2416

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