Tickford confirms Fraser for 2023 Supercars

The recently-crowned Super2 champion has been the runaway favourite to take the seat since news of an impending premature split between Tickford and Kostecki broke late last year.

With that split made official earlier this week, Tickford has now confirmed that Fraser – who beat its own Super2 title Zak Best to the title last year – will make his main game debut with the team this year.

It is a somewhat unexpected promotion for Fraser who, before the Tickford/Kostecki split, had looked set for a season on the sidelines.

The car will continue to be backed by workwear brand Tradie as was the case last season.

The Fraser deal will also give Tickford a boost in rookie days, set to be crucial in the first year of Gen3, with both the new signing, and second-year driver Thomas Randle, eligible for additional testing.

“It’s a pretty special feeling,” said Fraser.

“At the end of the Super2 season we didn’t really know where we were heading for 2023, so to get the call from [Tickford CEO] Tim [Edwards] and everyone was pretty exciting.

"Getting from Super2 to the main game is a really tough step to make, especially from a financial perspective, so to have Tim and the team at Tickford Racing offer me this drive on performance is really special.

"It shows that Super2 is a great platform to prepare young drivers for the main game, and I’m really looking forward to the opportunity.

“I’m excited to see how Tickford go about their main game team and want to learn just as much as possible. I think this year is the perfect time to jump into the main game with Gen3 coming along, it levels the playing field for everyone.

"We’re a four-car team, and Tickford has a lot of experience in developing cars, of course Thomas [Randle] and I will have our rookie test days as well, so we’ll have a fair bit of track time and hopefully we can put all that together and have a really strong year.”

Edwards highlighted the curious nature of welcoming Fraser straight from Triple Eight's rival Super2 programme, but said he was excited to work with the 22-year-old.

“It’s funny how things work,” Edwards said. “We went into Adelaide trying to beat Declan in Super2, and here we are a few weeks later preparing him to suit up with us in the main game for 2023.

"This sport works in strange ways sometimes, but Declan has all the qualities you look for in a young driver, so we are excited to work with him and are confident he will do a fine job for the team.

"We are very enthusiastic about having him on board and are looking forward to getting him behind the wheel of the Tradie Ford Mustang in a few short weeks.”

Fraser will join team leader Cam Waters, veteran James Courtney and Randle in Tickford's four-car line-up.

The team will begin testing its Gen3 cars early next month, ahead of an all-in pre-season test at Sydney Motorsport Park midway through February, and the opening round of the 2023 season in Newcastle on the first weekend in March.