How taming his temper shaped Supercars' slow-burn star

By:

Andrew van Leeuwen

Sep 17, 2021, 1:13 AM

His decision to leave Brad Jones Racing was the biggest shock of the Australian Supercars silly season so far. But for Nick Percat, it comes as the culmination of a personal journey that has made him into one of the most rounded drivers in the series, now in search of a seat that can make him a champion

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Hidden Valley, 2015. Nick Percat limped his LD Motorsport Holden back to the pits, its driver’s side door peeled back like the lid on a tin of sardines. The pile-up he’d been caught up with had actually been triggered by Will Davison getting into the back of Andre Heimgartner, but the last thing Percat had seen was a windscreen full of Jamie Whincup. And he was not happy with the then-six-time Supercars champion.

Before he got back to the lane, Percat pressed the radio button and delivered a now iconic burn levelled at Whincup: “How has that bloke won anything?”

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Andrew van Leeuwen

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Andrew van Leeuwen is Motorsport.com's Australian Editor and provides award-winning coverage of Supercars. He started his career working for Australasian Motorsport News in Melbourne, working his way into the top digital editor role before relocating to Mainz, Germany, in 2012. During his three-year stint in Europe he covered a number of series, including the DTM, while working for Autosport, before returning to Australia as part of Motorsport.com's global expansion in early 2015. Alongside his Motorsport.com commitments Andrew is one-third of the successful Below the Bonnet podcast. He lives in Perth with his wife Anne, kids Nico and Billie and chihuahua Coco.