ALBERT Park winner Nick Percat has opened up on how a ‘reality check’ from a group of karting kids kept him from quitting Supercars.
Percat scored his first victory in four years on Sunday in Melbourne during just his second event with underdog outfit Matt Stone Racing.
The 35-year-old signed with MSR after a horror two seasons at Walkinshaw Andretti United that left him wanting out of the sport altogether.
“I wanted to quit,” he said on TV moments after his stunning win. “The last 18 months. I hated every second of that mob.
“Honestly the moment I walked into MSR I knew this is where I needed to be, so a huge thank you to everyone.”
Asked by V8 Sleuth what convinced him to commit to a fresh start in Supercars, Percat pointed to the members of the karting team he started last year.
“The JND kart team, those 10 kids, they’re all nine to 15 and dream of being in a Supercar,” Percat said.
“They pretty much gave me a clip around the ears and said, ‘Nick, you need to keep racing, we love watching you, if you can get in the right car’.
“That gave me a lot of motivation.
“When I met Matt and the team and understood what they were doing there, I thought, ‘I’ve got to be in this car’.”
Percat makes no bones about his struggles during the WAU years, adding: “I got pretty low.
“I was trying to avoid coming to the track, I’d get here as late as possible, leave as quick as possible. It was average.
“But it’s pretty cool when you can have young karters who dream to race cars motivate you so much when it’s getting so tough.
“They probably give you a reality check. There’s 24 seats available and they love watching it, if you come last or first.
“There was a complete other group of people who were watching as well, keeping me going.
“It’s all worked out well.”
