Tickford quartet set for Sydney opener

TICKFORD RACING – SYDNEY SUPERNIGHT PREVIEW

3 March, 2022

Tickford Racing is set to hit the track this weekend, kicking off the 2022 Supercars Championship at Sydney Motorsport Park with two 300-kilometre races at Sydney Motorsport Park. The Melbourne-based team enters 2022 expanding to four full-time entries in the Supercars Championship, with newcomers Jake Kostecki and rookie Thomas Randle joining established drivers James Courtney and Cam Waters.

Courtney (No. 5 Opposite Lock Ford Mustang) heads into the new season moving into the team’s No. 5 entry, enjoying support from 4WD specialists Opposite Lock as the western Sydney native looks to start his 2022 on the right foot. Alongside Courtney in the team’s first garage, Cam Waters (No. 6 Monster Energy Ford Mustang) enters the new year looking to build on a 2021 where he scored three wins and finished fifth in the drivers’ championship. Waters’ most recent race at SMP netted a career-best finish at the venue, finishing third in a 250-kilometre race in late November.

2020 Super2 champion Thomas Randle (No. 55 Castrol Racing Ford Mustang) makes his long-awaited full-time Supercars debut this weekend following a three-event wildcard program in 2021 which included an appearance at Sydney. Randle will be paired with Jake Kostecki (No. 56 Tradie Ford Mustang) in the 55/56 garage, with the 22-year old moving to the team for his second full Supercars season.

In light of the situation unfolding in eastern Europe, Tickford Racing’s cars will also carry signage this weekend paying tribute to those in danger in Ukraine, a cause that is especially important to the Kostecki family which holds Ukrainian lineage.

The Sydney SuperNight begins the 13-round 2022 championship with practice on Friday at Sydney Motorsport Park, followed by qualifying, a Top Ten Shootout, and a 300-kilometre race on both Saturday and Sunday.

DRIVERS’ VIEW
No. 5 Opposite Lock Ford Mustang
James Courtney
“It only feels like yesterday we were packing up here after four rounds, but it’s great to be back in racing season and getting ready for the weekend. The team’s worked hard this offseason to improve those little areas we were missing out on last year, and I think we made some good gains at our preseason test so we’re all really keen to get out there and see how we go. We debuted a new look on the car on Thursday with Opposite Lock coming on board, the car looks like a jet, but every car looks better at the front so we’ll put our focus on getting it there and having a good weekend.”
 
No. 6 Monster Energy Ford Mustang
Cam Waters
“Like anyone I’m excited to get back to racing a Supercar. Obviously I’ve kept my race face going with the sprint car program which has been a lot of fun, but it’ll be good to get back into the swing of things on asphalt again. Sydney wasn’t too kind to us last year so we’ve looked hard at what we can improve and we’ve made some changes to try and address those deficits. It’s going to be a pretty busy weekend with the long races and the weather forecast, but hopefully all that homework will put us in the window and we can start this season off strong.”
 
No. 55 Castrol Racing Ford Mustang
Thomas Randle
“I’m definitely, definitely looking forward to getting on track this weekend and finally getting a start on my full-time Supercars career. It’s been a long road for myself and my family and my supporters, so while it’s amazing just to get to this chapter I don’t want to make it a short one, so I have my full focus on getting out there and doing my best this weekend for the team at Castrol Racing.”
 
No. 56 Tradie Ford Mustang
Jake Kostecki
“I’m super pumped to get the season going. It’s been a big offseason for me, moving teams, but it’s been really good working with the team here at Tickford and getting settled in with the Tradie Racing crew. I’ve been learning a ton from the team and my team mates over the last couple months so I’m really excited to put that all to use and finally go racing. It’s a big weekend and obviously there are some big question marks over the weather, but we’ll go out there and give it our best effort, and hopefully get the season off to a good start.”
 
On Tickford’s tribute to Ukraine:
“I was born in Australia but my grandparents were born in Ukraine and since I was little I went to a Ukrainian school after my regular school. Growing up I knew a lot of Ukrainians and our family business, Alloy Steel International, actually employs quite a few of them as well, and with what’s happening in Ukraine at the moment, it’s pretty sad times. You’ve just got to feel for everyone there and Ukrainians everywhere, it’s really tough to see…For Tickford Racing to put the Ukrainian flag on all of our cars, it’s pretty cool to see that show of support. Obviously it’s pretty hard for us to make a huge difference from where we are, but it shows that we’re thinking of everyone over there in such hard times.”
 
Tim Edwards, Team Principal
“It’s been a very busy offseason for us, but we’re all looking forward to getting back on track this weekend. It’s an exciting time in the team with us going back to four cars and a couple of new faces around with Thomas stepping up to a full-time drive and Jake joining the team. Obviously we’re looking to build on the successes we had last season and shore up the areas where we struggled, so we’ve done a lot of homework to try and improve our overall package. Hopefully we get some dry running to see how that pans out, but regardless of the conditions we’ll certainly be having a crack and trying to start this season off the best way we can.”

DUNLOP SUPER2 SERIES
The Dunlop Super2 Series also begins its 2022 championship at Sydney this weekend, where Zak Best (No. 78 Best Leisure Industries Ford Falcon FG X) begins his title campaign after a runner-up result in the 2021 championship. The 20-year old feels he has unfinished business at the venue in Eastern Creek, where last year he led a wet Super2 race when it was cancelled due to poor weather conditions.
 
The Dunlop Super2 Series will contest two 18-lap races across the March 4-6 weekend at Sydney Motorsport Park, kicking off the six-event 2022 calendar which includes scheduled races at Perth, Townsville, Sandown, Bathurst, and Newcastle.
 
No. 78 Best Leisure Industries Ford Falcon FG X
Zak Best
“I’m definitely excited to be back, it’s great to get another Super2 season underway. I’m looking forward to this weekend, we were actually pretty strong here last year and just ran into some bad luck so I’m keen to get back out there and start off the year strong. It’s a new season, I have a new car that looks awesome, and I’m feeling ready to have a great season.”
 
EVENT NAME: Sydney SuperNight
DATE:March 4-6
LOCATION: Eastern Creek, NSW
EVENT NUMBER:1 of 13
FORMAT: Friday – 2 x 40-min RSC practice, 2 x 40-min DS2 practice; Saturday – 1 x 15-min RSC Qual, 1 x RSC Top Ten Shootout, 1 x 77-lap RSC race (302 km), 1 x 10-min DS2 Qual, 1 x 18-lap DS2 race (70 km); Sunday – 1 x 15-min RSC Qual, 1 x RSC Top Ten Shootout, 1 x 77-lap RSC race (302 km), 1 x 10-min DS2 Qual, 1 x 18-lap DS2 race (70 km)
CIRCUIT: Sydney Motorsport Park
LENGTH: 3.93-kilometres
DESCRIPTION:Based in Sydney’s west, Sydney Motorsport Park was built in 1990 and is one of Australia’s premier motor racing venues. SMP’s rough track surface creates extreme tyre wear, forcing teams to keep tyre management front of mind, which in turn tends to allow for entertaining racing on track.
TRACK RECORD:1m29.84s (Jamie Whincup, 2018)
TICKFORD RACING BEST RESULT: 1st – Mark Winterbottom (2008), Chaz Mostert (2015 x 2), Jack Le Brocq (2020)
 
Ends.