After 16 months, Cam Waters has returned to Supercars victory lane with a resounding win on Friday at the betr Darwin Triple Crown.
It is the Milduran’s 19th career win and second at Hidden Valley Raceway, and his first as a father.
Waters was followed home by Grove Racing teammates Kai Allen and Matt Payne, while pole sitter Brodie Kostecki finished fourth.
The early laps saw Waters leap from fourth to second off the line and harass Kostecki for the lead, before 2023 champion Kostecki dove into pit lane on Lap 7 to make his compulsory pit stop.
Waters reacted with the opposite pit strategy, going long and not pitting until Lap 20 of 35.
The 31-year old emerged just behind Kostecki after his stop and with fresher tyres, reigned in the West Australian to take the lead on Lap 23.
Allen and Payne then also reeled in Kostecki and were able to get around the Dick Johnson Racing driver just before a Safety Car was called with four laps to go for David Reynolds’ stricken Camaro.
That set up a one-lap dash where Waters was able to fend off a charging Allen to score his first win of the season.
The Tickford star becomes the ninth different Supercars race winner in 17 races so far in 2026.
To back it up on Saturday, Waters will have to conquer double the distance, with a 200-kilometre race scheduled for tomorrow afternoon.
Waters now leads the Darwin Triple Crown standings, which will be awarded to the driver who scores the most points across the event.
Boost Mobile Qualifying for Race 18 of the 2026 Supercars season begins at 10:45 a.m. ACST, with the Boost Mobile Top Ten Shootout to finalise the grid at 11:30 a.m.
Saturday’s 70-lap race then begins at 3:20 p.m.
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