Cam Waters has claimed his first Supercars win of the year, overcoming unusually cool and overcast conditions to clinch the first race of the Darwin Triple Crown.
After starting fourth in the 35-lap, 100km sprint race on Friday, the Tickford Racing Driver won by 0.448 seconds at Hidden Valley Raceway.
Victory ended a lengthy drought for Waters, who hadn’t managed a race win since February 2025.
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Young gun Kai Allen finished second, with his Grove Racing teammate Matt Payne rounding off the podium in third place.
Waters expertly navigated the first of the weekend’s three races, flying out of the gates and jostling with pole-sitter Brodie Kostecki, before perfectly timing his pit-stop in the 20th lap.
Crucially, on lap 23 Kostecki left the door open for Waters, and the Tickford Racing driver snuck past him through the inside lane to take the lead.
A late safety car threatened to derail Waters’ afternoon, but the 31-year-old held strong to claim the chequered flag.
Kostecki looked on track to finish second, but with three laps to go was overtaken by both of the Grove Racing drivers and dropped to fourth.
The Dick Johnson Racing driver went into Race 17 battling an illness and had a horror practice session, where he missed a large chunk because of throttle body failure and radio issues.
Supercars championship leader Broc Feeney had a day to forget. He finished 13th in qualifying, then was 14th in the actual race, ending his five-race winning streak in Darwin.
The Triple Eight Race Engineering driver complained that he felt slow on the track, before veering off the course in the first turn of lap 20, which dashed any hopes of a comeback.
Last year’s champion Chaz Mostert started in 11th position, but was only able to finish seventh.
RACE 17 RESULTS:
1. Cam Waters (Tickford Racing)
2. Kai Allen (Grove Racing)
3. Matt Payne (Grove Racing)
4. Brodie Kostecki (Dick Johnson Racing)
5. Will Brown (Triple Eight Race Engineering)
