Dalton to race Tickford wildcard
Lochie Dalton will make his Supercars debut at the Sydney SuperNight as the Tickford Racing wildcard returns.
Super2 racer Dalton will drive a third Tickford Ford Mustang at the seventh round of the 2024 Supercars Championship alongside Cameron Waters and Thomas Randle.
Tickford has fielded a wildcard in the past, most memorably for Zak Best, who took pole at The Bend in addition to racing at Darwin in 2022.
Current full time driver Randle also made wildcard appearances in 2021 at The Bend, Hidden Valley and Sydney Motorsport Park.
Dalton’s career started at the Launceston Kart Club at the age of 7 when his dad surprised him with a go-kart and in 2018 he won the Australian Kart Championship.
After COVID Dalton turned to Trans Am and became a front runner with regular podiums and wins and pressed James Moffat for the 2023 title.
He made his Super2 debut with Brad Jones Racing at the Adelaide finale and fronted ip for his first full season in 2023 where he finished third for the round at Perth before being 10th in the championship.
This year he turned to Tickford and started strong with three straight top 10 finishes to be eighth in the championship.
Dalton can’t wait for a dream to come true.
“I am over the moon to be making my Supercars Main Game debut at Sydney, it is a dream come true for myself, my family and my supporters/partners,” he said.
“I can’t wait to see where I rank against the best in Australia and what lessons I take away to come back and be better.
“It will also be great to have a Tasmanian back on the Supercars stage.”
Tickford CEO Simon Brookhouse said Dalton is a product of the Tickford Autosport program.
“It’s great to see that our pathway for young talent through our Tickford Autosport program, can provide the opportunity to benchmark their skill set and gain valuable experience in the top level,” he said.
“To start Lochie’s preparation, we’ve brought him to Darwin to be with our main game and be part of the group.
“Sitting in the pre and debriefs with our engineers and both Cam and Tom.
“This will hopefully have him in great shape for his main game debut.”
Tickford team owner Rod Nash said that despite the team downgrading to two cars in 2024, the wildcard shows it remains focused on youth.
“We have always been a team that has blooded drivers and been able to elevate them on a consistent basis,” he said.
“We’ve shown we’re a team that has a repeat level of success and now as a focused two car main game operation, we haven’t lost sight of our development.
“We’ve actually placed a larger lens on this, with three cars running this year in Super2.”
Dalton will enjoy a test day at Winton before the Sydney round on July 19-21.
Darwin Triple Crown (ACST)
Friday, June 14
1: W. Brown 1:06.4153 2: J. Golding +0.0156 3: J. Le Brocq +0.0518
1: J. Golding 1:05.6912 2: N. Percat +0.0742 3: M. Winterbottom +0.1515
Saturday, June 15
9.35 Practice 2
11.35 Top 10 Shootout
15.10 Race 11 (48 laps)
Sunday, June 16
10.25 Qualifying
11.35 Top 10 Shootout
15.10 Race 12 (48 laps)
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