Tickford has confirmed it will downsize from four cars to two in 2024 in a move it says will quicken its return to championship contention.
The decision will see two of Tickford’s four drivers let go. None has yet had a 2024 seat publicly confirmed at Tickford or elsewhere.
Blanchard Racing Team is tipped to receive one of Tickford’s relinquished racing entitlements, bringing it up to two cars and levelling the grid at 24 entries.
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It’s the second time in three years the Campbellfield team has reduced its paddock footprint, having shrunk from four cars down to three in 2021 before expanding again last season.
Team principal Tim Edwards said ahead of the 2022 campaign that Tickford’s business model was built around a four-car model.
But after a disappointing start to the Gen3 era, Edwards said he was convinced that a more common two-car operation would have a better chance of success in this regulatory era.
“The sole motivation behind the decision is to focus all the team’s energy and resources toward again becoming a championship-winning team in the 2024 season and beyond,” he said.
“The business has been working on a number of strategic plans on how best to position Tickford Racing into the future for greater success in all its racing programs.
“Further information on what the team will look like in 2024 will be released in due course.
“The entire Tickford Racing team remains focused on the 2023 championship, especially as we head into the enduros, and maximising our results at the last four events of the year.”
The restructure leaves Brad Jones Racing as the only four-car operation in the Supercars paddock.
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Tickford currently fields Cam Waters, Thomas Randle, James Courtney and rookie Declan Fraser but is yet to publicly confirm any of them as part of its 2024 plans.
Despite considerable speculation about his future earlier in the year, Waters is expected remain with the Victorian team alongside Randle, who enjoyed a breakout weekend at the previous round in Tailem Bend.
Reigning Super2 champion Fraser and 2010 Supercars champion Courtney are expected to be on the market for 2024.
Courtney has been linked to several unsigned seats, including Jack Le Brocq’s vacated Matt Stone Racing drive and the expanded Blanchard Racing Team, where some speculation has placed him in an all-new line-up alongside 21-year-old Super2 campaigner Aaron Love.
The latter scenario would leave Todd Hazelwood searching for a seat just one year after signing up with Tim Blanchard’s team.
Elsewhere on the grid, Super2 rookie Ryan Wood has been connected to Nick Percat’s Walkinshaw Andretti United drive. Percat has been linked to the battle for the vacant MSR seat, competition for which would appear to be heating up as the silly season reaches its crunch point.
Tickford’s lead garage, comprising Waters and Courtney, is fourth in the teams championship on 2449 points. Despite being the highest places Ford team, it’s still 1083 points behind the table-topping Erebus squad.
Waters is the team’s lead driver in the championship. The 29-year-old is sixth in the standings with 1460 points, 122 behind Chaz Mostert and 435 behind championship leader Brodie Kostecki.
The team’s best result has come via Waters’s inherited first place at the season-opening Saturday race in Newcastle after both Triple Eight cars were disqualified for a technical infringement.
