Tickford still confident in Waters renewal

Waters has been one of two key figures in what is proving to be a fascinating Supercars silly season, the other being NASCAR-bound Shane van Gisbergen.

For Waters there have been various links to a move away from Tickford, the most aggressive poaching effort believed to have come from Walkinshaw Andretti United.

However a Triple Eight drive could also be within reach for Waters given the increasing likelihood that van Gisbergen will defect to the United States next season.

Tickford boss Edwards has been adamant for some time that he has an option on Waters for next season, although Waters himself said after the Tasmanian round in May that talks regarding 2024 were yet to start.

When quizzed on the matter again in Townsville over the weekend, amid the van Gisbergen exit speculation, Edwards doubled down on his insistence that Waters will stay.

“I’m standing by what I’ve said; I’ve got an option on all my drivers for next year,” he told Motorsport.com.

It appears Edwards will indeed keep his man with current indications pointing heavily to Waters extending with the Ford squad for another year.

Waters is among a number of drivers looking Stateside for their future, with a single-year Tickford deal giving him better short-term flexibility should an offer present itself.

Exactly how Tickford will be structured next season is up in the air, with the team evaluating its four-car model.

It could feasibly scale back to two cars which would likely put Waters alongside one of the existing three drivers – Thomas Randle, James Courtney and Declan Fraser.

The team is also aligned with Super2 frontrunner Zak Best and is running the very promising Brad Vaughan in the second-tier as well.

As for the rest of the silly season, should Waters stay put at Tickford it would leave a Triple Eight seat on the market if van Gisbergen does exit Supercars as expected.

Among the contenders could be enduro driver Richie Stanaway who has flagged interest in a full-time return to Supercars for the right opportunity.

Brodie Kostecki, who is under contract at Erebus for next season, is another driver who has been open about his NASCAR ambitions, with speculation rife that he’ll be on the Cup Series grid for the Indianapolis road course race next month.

WAU foundation driver Ryan Wood is also still heavily in the silly season mix, particularly given a Waters/WAU combo now seems unlikely.

The young Kiwi, currently racing for WAU in Super2, could potentially move to Team 18 if a main game promotion at Clayton doesn’t materialise.