BEING the only team to have knocked off Triple Eight this season is a feat that sits well with Matt Stone and his burgeoning Supercars squad.
Until last year, Matt Stone Racing had lurked towards the back of the grid more often than not.
That’s in stark contrast to its early 2024 status.
Cameron Hill opened his second main game season with a bang by qualifying and finishing top five in the first race of the year, and new teammate Nick Percat has been consistently fast – culminating in a memorable victory at Albert Park.
That snapped a five-race winning streak for Triple Eight, who’ve dominated the initial stages of the championship.
“That’s a statistic I’m certainly going to take bragging rights for,” Stone beamed when prompted by V8 Sleuth about being the first non-T8 winner of 2024.
“I’m happy with that. It’s brilliant to be able to claim that we are the only team to topple them so far this season.”
Stone hailed Percat as top-quality and is delighted with how quickly things have come together on the Car #10 side of the garage.
The 35-year-old, who was recruited to fill the void left when Jack Le Brocq signed with Erebus Motorsport, is fourth in the overall points.
“Getting a second race win for the team and getting Nick back into the spotlight is what we planned to do this year,” said Stone.
“It’s great to be able to do it as early as Round 2. The team is gelling with Nick so well that we’re off to a blinding start. It’s absolutely fantastic.
“We seem to be all-or-nothing when it comes to podiums, but we’re happy with the win.”
MSR’s only previous Supercars Championship podium was Le Brocq’s race win last year in Darwin.
