NICK Percat has known for longer than most just how good Cameron Hill is.
The duo will become Supercars teammates for the next two seasons at Matt Stone Racing, having both been on new deals through 2025 in the past seven days.
Hill is in the midst of a rookie season which is better than 23rd in the championship might suggest, while Percat will move across from Walkinshaw Andretti United to fill the seat being vacated by Jack Le Brocq.
Albeit several years apart, Percat and Hill had similar journeys to the main game.
NEWS: Motorsport Australia to reclaim SpeedSeries TV rights
Percat won the Australian Formula Ford Championship in 2009 and was a title contender in both Super2 and Carrera Cup Australia.
Hill clinched titles in Australian Formula Ford (2015) and Carrera Cup (2021), and last year was a Super2 front-runner at Triple Eight.
Percat’s role will now be to lead MSR forward as Hill rises up the ranks.
“Cam is doing a great job. There’s been things that have stopped him having good results this year,” Percat told V8 Sleuth.
“I have followed him for a long time: when he was racing Formula Ford, I was mechanic for and helping my best Jake Spencer race his Formula Ford against Cameron.
“I’ve seen what he can do for a long time with Porsche and Formula Ford and Super2, so he’s definitely a good steerer and from everything the team is saying, he has got a really high work ethic which is great to see as well.
“If I can help in any way, shape or form with where he’s at, it would be great.
“Hopefully next year he’s pushing the back of the 10 and top 15, and hopefully I can be a little up the road on that and we can get really good team points.
“It kind of does remind me of BJR: a bunch of racers wanting to go racing and win trophies is what definitely appealed.”
Percat’s MSR move means he’ll swiftly return to the General Motors fold after a single season with Ford. The 34-year-old’s first 288 Supercars Championship races all came aboard Holdens.
“That’s definitely a positive for the family Christmas!” he laughed.
“I don’t think my granddad has spoken to me since joining the Ford side!
“It definitely makes the Percat family happy. Obviously everyone knows about the history of our family and the Holden brand, so definitely granddad will be happy to see his boy back on the GM side.”
Percat has four rounds to go with WAU, starting with this weekend’s Sandown 500 where he’ll have Fabian Coulthard as his co-driver.
