FOR the first time in the 2024 Repco Supercars Championship, Tickford Racing found itself not in a bind trying to unlock speed from its Mustangs at Taupō Motorsport Park.
That’s the positive takeaway from co-owner Rod Nash, despite the pain of seeing his squad drop to eighth in the teams’ championship.
Tickford ended last year as the top Ford team but currently is second-last among the Blue Oval contingent, behind Grove Racing, Dick Johnson Racing and Walkinshaw Andretti United – and only ahead of the Blanchard Racing Team.
There was yet another case of what could’ve been, though, with contact again costing Cam Waters a shot at victory.
Waters went from pole position to in the fence within seconds of Race 1 getting underway, and still managed to fight back to eighth despite carrying damage.
“We’ve got fast cars. That’s the real positive,” said Nash.
“It was the first weekend where we weren’t sitting in the engineering meetings looking for pace.”
Nash lamented strategy and set-up miscues on Sunday, as Thomas Randle slid from seventh on the grid to 15th by the end of the second 60-lapper, but feels there is reason to believe results are around the corner.
“We’ve got something to work with now,” he continued.
“We’ve got to do a better job on set-ups, but we’re definitely on the right trajectory with our car speed.
“We like Perth, so I’d like to think we have something good to work with for the next meeting.”
The Perth SuperSprint will take place at Wanneroo Raceway on May 17-19.
Tickford has accrued 10 wins and 25 podiums from over the years at Wanneroo.
