Tickford Racing
14 OCT 2020
Tickford ends three-month road trip with shot at Bathurst 1000 glory
The 2020 Virgin Australia Supercars Championship concludes this weekend at the Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000, and while Tickford Racing looks forward to returning home after 14 weeks on the road, its focus firmly lies on the chance at the team's third win at Mount Panorama.
Tickford's travelling crew has been away from its Victorian base since July 6, completing seven race events across Sydney, Darwin, Townsville, and Tailem Bend, and temporarily basing its operations out of Sea World Resort on the Gold Coast.
Fresh from winning the most recent race on the calendar at The Bend Motorsport Park, Cameron Waters (No. 6 Monster Energy Ford Mustang) sits third in the Supercars drivers' championship, and enters the Bathurst event in fine form at the season's climax. Tipped as one of the top co-drivers in this year's field, two-time Bathurst winner Will Davison joins Waters in the No. 6 Mustang. Davison drove for Tickford's customer team, 23Red Racing, at the start of 2020, however was forced to the sidelines when 23Red withdrew from the championship during the season's pause due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
A dozen years after standing on the podium together, Lee Holdsworth and Michael Caruso (No. 5 Truck Assist Ford Mustang) reunite for a second shot at Bathurst hardware, this time with Truck Assist Racing. Holdsworth enters the event 12th in the drivers' championship, while Caruso enters his second year co-driving with the team after pairing with Waters in 2019.
James Courtney (No. 44 Boost Mobile Ford Mustang) has stood on the Bathurst podium four times in his career, including a third place finish in 2019, but hopes to finally reach the top step in 2020 after a roller coaster season of his own. Courtney will be joined by Tickford Super2 driver Broc Feeney, who will celebrate a special 18th birthday on Sunday, competing in his first Bathurst 1000.
In his only previous start for Tickford at Bathurst, Jack Le Brocq (No. 55 Supercheap Auto Ford Mustang) finished fourth in 2016 co-driving with Cameron Waters. Le Brocq returned to the team in 2020 and recorded his first career win at Sydney Motorsport Park in July, and with confidence in his race car, is optimistic he and co-driver James Moffat – who returns to the team for a third year in the Supercheap Auto Ford – can challenge for the win.
Practice for the Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 begins Thursday, October 15, followed by qualifying on Friday, the illustrious Top Ten Shootout on Saturday, and Australia's Great Race taking place Sunday, October 18.
DRIVERS' VIEW
No. 5 Truck Assist Ford Mustang
Lee Holdsworth
"I think we're coming on at the right time. The first part of the season was really strong for us, the Truck Assist Ford Mustang was on the money, and we managed to snag a couple podiums. We had a bit of a dry patch for a bit, but I think we'll have a good car when we get on track at Bathurst. I have a great co-driver in Michael Caruso, he has a lot of experience and we're good mates so I feel like that's going to pay off for us. As a team we've shown some good speed the last few rounds across the four cars, and I think we'll be in for a real chance this weekend to finish the year on a high at Bathurst."
Michael Caruso
"It's great to be back in a race week again and at Bathurst no less. It's been such a strange year with all that's been happening, but to put all that behind us for a bit and to head to the Mountain again is really exciting. I'm really excited to pair up with Lee as well, obviously we stood on the podium together in 2009, and we've been good mates for a long time, so I think that relationship will really help us get the most out of the car and out of each other. The Tickford team as a whole has really been quite strong, so hopefully we can keep that going and put together a great result on Sunday."
No. 6 Monster Energy Ford Mustang
Cameron Waters
"To come off the back of a race win is obviously a good shot in the arm for my confidence, and we're generally pretty strong as a team at Bathurst, so I'm really excited to get into it. Obviously teaming up with Will is really exciting, he's a great driver and he knows our cars and gets along with everyone. He'll be a great fit and should help us be really competitive, but we're not thinking too far ahead. A lot of things happen at Bathurst, so we just have to focus on the job at hand, stick to our plan, and hopefully get to the end on Sunday where we want to be."
Will Davison
"It's awesome to finally be getting back in the car. It's obviously been a really challenging year for everyone, and certainly I've had some tough circumstances to deal with. I've been counting down the days, and it's nice to have those pre-race jitters starting to creep up again. I can't wait to get back into the car, with a team I know so well in Tickford and pairing up with Cam, who's absolutely on fire at the moment, so I'm certainly excited to do my part in trying to help the Car 6 team and Monster Energy achieve a great result."
No. 44 Boost Mobile Ford Mustang
James Courtney
"I'm feeling pretty good. Last round we had three top-five qualifying performances, and I think we're hitting our stride in the Boost Mobile camp, really the whole team is on the up coming in which is pretty exciting. I've been on the podium at Bathurst a number of times, but unfortunately not on the top step yet. I've been fortunate to win most of the big prizes in Supercars – Adelaide, Gold Coast, the championship – but I haven't done it at Bathurst, and I'd sure like to change that. Obviously there's only one goal there and it's to win, we'll give it our best shot and see what we can do in the Boost Mobile Mustang."
Broc Feeney
"It's been a pretty crazy few weeks. I found out a few months ago that I'd be joining James in the Bathurst 1000, and now it's all getting pretty real. It's pretty exciting heading to Bathurst, it's my first time racing a Supercar at Bathurst, and I'm really looking forward to it. I got to turn a few laps in the car at Tailem Bend which was really helpful in just getting familiar with everything, which just makes my job easier when we get on track this week. And to think Sunday, I turn 18 and get to start my first Bathurst 1000, it's definitely going to be a day I'll never forget."
No. 55 Supercheap Auto Ford Mustang
Jack Le Brocq
"It's a weird one, being the last round of the year at Bathurst. I suppose it's happened before, but it's weird for us, and at the same time it's exciting to end on such a big event. You can go out on a high or easily go out on the other end of it. Hopefully we have a good run, it's good to have Moff in the Supercheap Auto car with me, we're just going through the processes and getting everything ready. We've been coming on strong the last couple rounds, so fingers crossed we have a good weekend, it'd be awesome to have a solid run for Supercheap Auto in their final year sponsoring the event. After 16 years supporting the race, it'd be nice to repay them and also repay the guys and girls who have been on the road for over 100 days with a good result to end the year."
James Moffat
"After the year it's been I'm definitely looking forward to getting back to Bathurst. Obviously I haven't driven a Supercar since February, and I actually drove a different car then, so there's a bit of learning to do, but we should get things sorted pretty easily. Jack's had a good run coming into Bathurst, which is really encouraging, and the 55 car has been pretty strong in race trim which is what you need in the '1000.' It's also pretty special to drive the Supercheap Auto car in the last year they are sponsoring the event, so we'll try to put a strong car together for the end, and hopefully be right in amongst it."
Tim Edwards, Team Principal
"It's certainly been a long journey for the team, but while there's a light at the end of the tunnel our focus is solely on this weekend and trying to bring that Peter Brock trophy home with us. We're in a really good position at the moment, all four cars are running well, the team is operating really well, and we have the best co-driver line-up maybe in our history. While we're very optimistic of our chances on Sunday, we know as well as anyone what this race can throw at you, so we'll take this weekend lap by lap, and hopefully be there when it counts. It goes without saying that the best way to reward our team – both those traveling and those at home – would be to win on Sunday, that's certainly what we're here to do."
