Tickford to see a new and improved Le Brocq

Jack Le Brocq believes Tickford Racing will see a different driver in 2020 to the one they worked with four seasons ago.

Le Brocq will join the Ford team next year to drive their Supercheap-backed #55 Mustang, stepping into the void left by Chaz Mostert’s departure to Walkinshaw Andretti United.

The 27-year-old and Tickford are familiar with one another, having linked for the 2016 Dunlop Super2 season.

Le Brocq was beaten to the title that year by teammate Garry Jacobson but not before showing significant promise, winning seven of the 16 races – plus finishing fourth in the Bathurst 1000 co-driving with Cameron Waters.

“I made a few silly mistakes throughout the year, which probably cost us a shot at the championship, but we had the most race wins by a good margin and took out the pole award as well,” Le Brocq told Supercars.com of his 2016 campaign.

“I was probably a little bit inconsistent back then but that’s something I’ve worked hard on and hopefully we can take that sort of speed and turn it into some good results again with Tickford and keep pressing forward.

“It will be cool to get back in their cars again full-time.”

Le Brocq in 2016

Le Brocq completed the final season of his four-year Super2 apprenticeship with MW Motorsport before being picked up by Tekno Autosports for 2018.

He placed highest in the championship of five main game rookies that year, but endured a “character-building” 2019 aboard a struggling #19 Commodore.

Nonetheless, he used the experience as an opportunity to fine tune his driving out of the spotlight, in preparation for when he would have a chance to better showcase his talents.

That chance will come via a return to Tickford, with whom he reached an agreement long before an announcement was made last month.

“I definitely felt we were learning over the last couple of years,” said Le Brocq, who has moved back to Melbourne.

“But like many people have been saying, we’re coming home now and hopefully we can build a long-lasting relationship here and race for many years to come.”

Tickford’s 2019 stable of Mostert, Cameron Waters, Will Davison and Lee Holdsworth all finished inside the championship’s top 10, sparking optimism that Le Brocq will have the tools to transform into a frontrunner.

He added it will be important to keep his own expectations in check as he replaces the high-profile Mostert, who led the team’s charge in recent seasons.

How he stacks up against the Waters/Davison/Holdsworth trio will be a significant point of interest, though, having never had a Supercars teammate before.

“You always want to try to beat your teammates so that’s going to be an awesome challenge for myself,” Le Brocq said.

“I get along with all three of those boys really well so I just want to get to Adelaide now and get stuck into it.”

Between now and the Superloop Adelaide 500 in February, Le Brocq will make another visit to the UK to work with renowned driver coach Rob Wilson.