How Tickford slump exposed MSR to competitive swing

Tickford dominated in Sydney, MSR left Round 1 last in teams'
MSR turned the tide with impressive AGP round as Tickford struggled
Tickford swing shows veteran engineer "how tight" Supercars is

In Sydney, Tickford Racing and Matt Stone Racing were at either ends of the teams' championship.

Tickford won three races and claimed three poles, while MSR had a shocker and ended up last of all teams.

Come Melbourne, and as MSR turned the tables to get drivers on the podium in all three races, Tickford struggled to even qualify in the top 10.

It was the clearest sign that Gen3 continues to offer teams challenges and opportunities to stay at the top of the pecking order. Not even Triple Eight Race Engineering has managed to stay afloat at times, notably slumping at a number of events across 2023 and 2024.

After Sydney, Supercars.com posed the question: Have Cam Waters and Tickford banished 2024 demons? At current, the answer is still no, given they left themselves vulnerable to drama in Melbourne.

For veteran MSR engineer Paul Forgie, the key is ensure the Grand Prix wasn't a fluke when the championship resumes in New Zealand next month.

MSR will have Triple Eight's data to lean on, and it will be crucial, given the Stone squad's average result across its two cars in Taupō was 16.75.

“You can see Tickford's absolutely dominant weekend at SMP a couple of weeks ago, and then they come here… you didn't really see them all weekend,” Forgie told Supercars' Cool Down Lap podcast.

“It shows you how tough and how tight this championship is. You can be dominant one week and be P25 the next.

“That one-two finish… it's hard enough to win one or even get on the podium in the series.”

Waters is second in the points ahead of ninth-placed teammate Thomas Randle, with Cameron Hill and Nick Percat eighth and 10th for MSR.

The 2025 Repco Supercars Championship will resume in New Zealand at the ITM Taupō Super 440 on April 11-13. Tickets for the event are on sale now.