Nick Percat has broken through for Matt Stone Racing in an absorbing Melbourne finale, with Will Brown clinching the Larry Perkins Trophy.
Percat (#10 Bendix Chevrolet) benefited from an early clash between Chaz Mostert (#25 Mobil 1 Optus Ford) and Matt Payne (#19 Penrite Ford) to win his first race since Sydney 2020, with MSR claiming just its second Supercars win.
Brown raced from ninth to second to win the Perkins Trophy ahead of Red Bull Ampol Racing teammate Broc Feeney, who came home third.
Heading to the next round in New Zealand, Brown leads Feeney by 17 points, with Mostert demoted from fourth to fifth after copping a five-second penalty over the Payne incident.
Mostert dropped behind Thomas Randle (#55 Castrol Ford), who claimed fastest lap bonus points. Will Davison (#17 Shell V-Power Ford) and Cam Waters (#6 Monster Energy Ford) came home sixth and seventh, with Payne recovering to 14th.
The end margin between Percat and Brown was just 0.3810s, with Feeney 0.9944s from his third victory of the weekend.
“Unbelievable. I’m kind of speechless. I can’t thank Matt, the whole team enough,” said an emotional Percat, who departed Walkinshaw Andretti United in the off-season.
“I wanted to quit, and now Round 2, we’ve won a race. It’s seriously amazing.
“Last 18 months, hated every second of that mob. So, honestly, the moment I walked into MSR, I knew this is where I needed to be.”
The race began in high drama for Anton De Pasquale, whose #11 Shell V-Power Ford was a non-starter. Cameron Hill (#4 Tyrepower Chevrolet) was sent into the Turn 7 gravel by Mostert’s teammate, Ryan Wood, who copped a 30-second penalty and was classified 21st.
Jack Le Brocq (#9 TFH Hire Chevrolet) also pulled into pit lane at the end of the first lap, and also retired from the race.
The 2024 Repco Supercars Championship returns to New Zealand on April 19-21 for the ITM Taupō Super400.