Formed in 2002 as Ford Performance Racing, the Melbourne team won two Bathurst 1000s and the 2015 drivers' title, and now runs two Mustangs plus a Super2 programme.
Tickford Racing is an Australian Supercars team that began as Ford Performance Racing in 2002. Its two Bathurst 1000 wins and its 2015 drivers' title came under the Prodrive and Ford names, and it runs two Ford Mustangs today.
Known until 2018 as Ford Performance Racing or Prodrive Racing Australia, this Melbourne-based team now campaigns in the Supercars Championship. It runs two Ford Mustangs with Cam Waters and Thomas Randle, and it fields a Super2 operation with four drivers. It has won the Bathurst 1000 twice, in 2013 and 2014, and it took the drivers' championship in 2015 with Mark Winterbottom.
How did the team begin in 2002?
In December 2002 Prodrive bought Glenn Seton Racing and renamed it Ford Performance Racing. The move was part of a marketing push to link Prodrive's Ford Performance Vehicles road cars, formerly Tickford, to the popular V8 Supercars series. The team expanded from one car to three, with Seton, Craig Lowndes and David Besnard in the line-up.
The team moved into a new headquarters beside the FPV factory in Campbellfield, Melbourne, and its third car ran under Rod Nash Racing's Racing Entitlement Contract. That made it Ford's first official factory-backed squad in decades, going back to the Ford Works team of 1962 to 1973.
A Ford factory-backed team that won two Bathurst 1000s and a drivers' title, then rebranded as Tickford and built a Super2 junior programme.
Were the early years a success?
The early years were disappointing for a team with such funding. Lowndes won a round at Phillip Island in 2003 and finished second at Bathurst with Seton, but he ended the year fifth in the championship. In 2004 the team cut back to two cars, and both drivers had a poor year, with engine problems, few test days and cars built to different specifications. Both left at the end of 2004, Lowndes for Triple Eight and Seton for Dick Johnson Racing.
Jason Bright and Greg Ritter joined for 2005. Bright had a consistent year, finishing inside the top 10, while David Brabham replaced Ritter for the last two rounds. In 2006 Mark Winterbottom joined the team. Bright scored several front-row starts, including three poles, and won the inaugural Bahrain round, the Desert 400. He finished sixth in the championship and Winterbottom third. The pair won the Sandown 500, and the team finished second in the teams' championship behind HSV Dealer Team.
| Year | Driver line-up | Highlight |
|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Lowndes, Seton, Besnard | Lowndes wins a round at Phillip Island |
| 2006 | Bright, Winterbottom | Winterbottom third, Bright sixth; Sandown 500 win |
| 2009 | Winterbottom, Richards | Winterbottom fifth in the championship |
| 2013 | Winterbottom, Richards | Bathurst 1000 win |
| 2014 | Mostert, Morris | Bathurst 1000 win with Chaz Mostert |
| 2015 | Winterbottom, Mostert, Waters | Drivers' championship for Winterbottom |
How did the team handle Bright's departure?
Bright left at the end of 2006 to drive for his own Britek Motorsport outfit, and Steven Richards replaced him. The team continued to challenge the front-runners. Its most painful moment in 2007 came at Bathurst, when Winterbottom left the circuit late in the race while leading. In 2008 Winterbottom challenged for the title, but Jamie Whincup finished ahead of him, and Richards was eighth.
In 2009 the team debuted the new FG Falcon. Triple Eight already had the speed, and FPR won only once that season, with Winterbottom, while Richards's best result was third. At Bathurst the Richards car caught fire on lap 50, and the second car crashed late. Winterbottom finished fifth in the championship and Richards thirteenth.
What was the team's record from 2010 to 2012?
In 2010 Winterbottom was third in the championship and Richards fifteenth. For 2011 Will Davison replaced Richards in the car, while Richards became an endurance co-driver for Winterbottom. Winterbottom finished third and Davison seventh. In 2012 the team was a strong challenger, with Winterbottom third and Davison fourth.
Who bought the team and how did it win at Bathurst?
In January 2013 Prodrive sold the team to Rusty French and Rod Nash. That year Mark Winterbottom and Steven Richards won the Bathurst 1000, and Davison finished third in the championship with Winterbottom fourth. Chaz Mostert joined in 2014, replacing Davison, and Mostert with Paul Morris won the 2014 Bathurst 1000 for the team.
What happened in the 2015 title season?
The 2015 season brought a new name, Prodrive Racing Australia, as Ford wound back its FPV brand. The FG X Falcon arrived that year, the first new Falcon since 2009. After a slow start it won eleven of fifteen races between the Perth Super Sprint and the Sydney Motorsport Park Super Sprint.
Winterbottom, sharing the car with Steve Owen, won the Sandown 500, and the team took a one-two with Mostert and Cam Waters. It was the team's first Sandown win since 2006. At Bathurst qualifying Mostert crashed heavily and missed the rest of the season. Winterbottom then took the drivers' championship, the team's first, though it lost the teams' title to Triple Eight in the final round.
How did the team change in 2016 and 2017?
In 2016 Mostert moved to customer team Rod Nash Racing for sponsorship reasons, and Cam Waters joined full-time in car No. 6 alongside defending champion Winterbottom. The team won only two races that year, both with Winterbottom, who finished sixth in the championship. Waters was 19th in his first full season and took fourth at Bathurst with Jack Le Brocq.
In 2017 the driver line-up stayed the same. The team's only win was the Sandown 500 with Waters and Richie Stanaway. Winterbottom finished sixth and Waters eighth.
Why was the team renamed Tickford Racing?
The Tickford name, tied to Ford's road cars, came back in 2016 when Prodrive's management revived it. Two years later the team itself took the Tickford Racing name, and Stanaway joined it in car No. 56. The Rod Nash Racing REC moved to the team with Mostert, making it a four-car operation.
What customer cars did the team run?
From 2010 to 2017 the team prepared a customer car for Rod Nash Racing. Paul Dumbrell drove it in 2010 and 2011, and David Reynolds took over in 2012, with a race win at the 2013 Armor All Gold Coast 600 and second at the 2012 Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000. Dean Canto was co-driver when Reynolds finished third in the 2015 drivers' championship. Chaz Mostert later won three races and the Pirtek Enduro Cup with Steve Owen.
Team 18 took a second customer car in 2013 with the Schwerkolt entry, first driven by Alex Davison and then by Jack Perkins. Super Black Racing replaced it for 2015 with Andre Heimgartner, and Britek Motorsport took over the second customer slot in 2017 with Jason Bright and Garry Jacobson. Tickford also built a Mustang for 23Red Racing in 2019, with Will Davison driving. 23Red withdrew in May 2020 when its backer, Milwaukee Tools, ended its support, and the team merged back into Tickford.
What is Tickford Autosport doing in the Super2 Series?
The team has run entries in the second-tier Dunlop Super2 Series since 2010, when James Moffat drove a BF Falcon. Chaz Mostert drove an FG Falcon in 2011 and 2012, and Cam Waters won the 2015 Development Series title in an older FG Falcon.
In 2016 Garry Jacobson and Jack Le Brocq finished first and second in the championship. In 2024 the junior team added a third car, and Rylan Gray became the youngest round winner in the series' history at Bathurst. In 2025 the team ran four cars, with Gray taking the championship and the team locking out the top four places in the standings.
Who are the team's current drivers?
Cam Waters and Thomas Randle drive the two Supercars entries. Goodall and Morris lead the Super2 side, joined in 2026 by Campbell Logan and Ben Gomersall. Dalton found a co-driver role with Erebus Racing, and Rylan Gray was promoted to the main series with Dick Johnson Racing.
What is the legacy of Tickford Racing?
The team's legacy is the way it turned a Ford marketing push into a Supercars title winner. It produced the 2015 drivers' champion and two Bathurst 1000 winners, and its junior programme has developed several drivers who went on to the main series.
Its history also shows how ownership changes and manufacturer decisions can reshape a team. Prodrive's sale, Ford's withdrawal from V8 Supercars support and the later rebrand each marked a turning point for the operation.
Who drove the team's cars in the 2010s and 2020s?
Mark Winterbottom, Will Davison, Steven Richards and Chaz Mostert were the main Supercars drivers of the 2010s, with Cam Waters joining in 2016 and Richie Stanaway in 2017 and 2018. Thomas Randle drove the team's Super2 entry from 2018, and Garry Jacobson, Jack Le Brocq and Josh Kean drove the Super2 FG X Falcons in 2016 and 2017. Broc Feeney and Zak Best were in the Super2 line-up in 2020 and 2021.
From 2023 the Super2 side expanded again, with Brad Vaughan and Elly Morrow in the team's Tickford Autosport entries. Rylan Gray and Lochie Dalton joined in 2024, Reuben Goodall and Nash Morris in 2025, and Campbell Logan and Ben Gomersall in 2026. The junior programme has become one of the team's main pathways to the top category.
What did the 2025 Super2 season achieve?
The 2025 Super2 season was the team's most successful in the series, and Mark Winterbottom returned in a mentorship role alongside his co-driving duties with Cam Waters. After an average start at round one, the team secured three round wins, eight of its 12 race wins and six of 11 pole positions. It locked out three round podiums and four race podiums, and it won the Teams Championship in the fifth round. Lochie Dalton took the Pole Position Award while Rylan Gray won the championship, and all four cars finished in the top four places of the series standings.
How did the Prodrive sale and Ford decisions shape the team?
Prodrive's sale in 2013 and Ford's decision to step back from V8 Supercars support in 2016 were the two big turning points of the team's later history. The renaming to Prodrive Racing Australia and then Tickford Racing followed each change, and the team kept building its cars and junior programme through them.
In 2015 the team also ran a third customer car at the Bathurst 1000, a one-off wildcard car for Renee Gracie and Simona de Silvestro, branded as the Harvey Norman Super Girls. Earlier it had prepared a No. 021 Team Kiwi Racing car for Paul Radisich in 2007, and in 2008 a Ford Rising Stars Racing car for Michael Patrizi.
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