ZACH Bates has made light of his on-track skirmishes with Matt Stone Racing en route to signing full-time with the team for the 2026 Repco Supercars Championship.

The Canberran was enjoying a super end to his maiden main game race weekend, running comfortably inside the top 10 on the Sunday of the Ipswich Super440 in August when he encountered not one but two MSR Camaros.

First was an aggrieved Cameron Hill who twice swerved into the Triple Eight wildcard down pit straight, before contact with Nick Percat two corners later just about finished Bates off.

And so went begging an eye-catching result, but not without him having made quite the lasting impression.

“It’s quite funny. Actually after that round, that’s when Matt (Stone) got in contact, so maybe he felt bad for me or something!” Bates laughed to V8 Sleuth.

In reality, it was not sympathy but rather a reaction to a starring performance – qualifying third, going fifth-fastest in the Top 10 Shootout, and keeping Chaz Mostert firmly at bay through an impressive opening stanza in the race.

“That’s full credit to Triple Eight and the Supercheap Auto wildcard program,” said Bates.

“They’ve now got four out of their five drivers that have progressed to the main series, so that’s a true testament to their program.

“They’ve been so incredible to work with, so it was very cool to come out of there and see also how they go about it, and hopefully I’ve learnt some stuff to take me forward.”

That final step in the apprenticeship wouldn’t have been possible without the hurdle provided by an inability to leverage the 2024 Super2 crown into a 2025 main game seat.

Zach Bates has raced for Eggleston Motorsport this year in Super2. Pic: Mark Walker

“At the end of the year that I won Super2, I was kind of a little bit disappointed that there wasn’t a direct carry-on, but I think it has worked out,” said the 21-year-old, who expressed excitement at counting Jack Le Brocq as his teammate next season.

“The timing was probably right, I needed that year just to step up in a really good environment and learn my craft before feeling very confident to jump in, which I am now.”

All three of MSR’s full-time drivers to date in the Gen3 era – Le Brocq (2023), Nick Percat (2024-25) and Cameron Hill (2023-25) – have won races.

The Craig Lowndes-led Supercheap Auto wildcard will shift to Team 18 next year.