“THIS is the team I’ve wanted to drive for, for four or five years now,” new Brad Jones Racing signing Nick Percat said during his first visit to the team’s Albury workshop this week.
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I thinks it’s the best place where I’ll be able to win races and fight for a championship so I'm pretty excited
- Nick Percat
Percat comes with a strong pedigree having been the match of Supercar stars Chaz Mostert and Scott McLaughlin when they raced together in Formula Ford and the Dunlop V8 Development series.
The 2010 Bathurst 1000 winner is excited to be at BJR on the Border and is looking to be strong from day one.
“My journey has been different to Chaz and Scott,” he said.
“I was contracted to Walkinshaw Racing in my early years, which was great, they supported me all through Formula Ford where I won the Championship in ’09 then into Supercars.
“Without them I wouldn’t have made it and I have a Bathurst win to my name whereas Scotty and Chaz don’t.
“My rookie year in the main Supercar series was 2014, which was a year later than I would have liked.
“Then with Walkinshaw not running a fourth car I ended up at Lucas Dumbrell, so yeah, it’s been character building but I picked up another Bathurst podium and a win at the Clipsal 500 this year, so it’s still been pretty good.”
There is no doubting Percat’s ability.
He is widely respected up and down pit lane as a talent and future champion.
“I’m super excited to be in a bigger team again,” he said.
”It’s somewhere where I’ve wanted to be for a long time.
“I thinks it’s the best place where I’ll be able to win races and fight for a championship so I’m pretty excited.”
Percat’s signing will change the dynamic at BJR, with Tim Slade and Tim Blanchard also looking to make their mark with the team.
Strong internal competition will be a driving force for everyone in the squad.
Red Bull Racing proved this year that having two top drivers lifts team performance to a new level, with no-one being able to seriously challenge title winner Shane Van Gisbergen and six-time champion Jamie Whincup for the 2016 crown.
“I want to finish top 10 for sure, and as close to Slady as possible,” he said.
“We were teammates in 2014 and extremely close in pace and results.
“The people here are all so welcoming and friendly.
“I feel very confident that we will gel quickly.
“I’m good mates with both ‘Slady’ and Tim Blanchard so it will be good to have everyone pushing in the same direction.
“I’m spending as much time here as I can, to try and get a feel for everything so there are no other distractions when I get to drive the car.
“I want us all to be comfortable and focused.”
Percat will have his first taste of his BJR racer at Winton in February when the team has their pre-season test day.