Why 2023 is the 'perfect' debut year for Fraser

The introduction of the Gen3 rules marks the “perfect” time for Declan Fraser to make his Supercars debut.

Fraser, who won the 2022 Super2 title with Triple Eight, will make his full-time debut with Tickford Racing this year.

The 22-year-old Queenslander replaces Jake Kostecki in the #56 TRADIE Ford Mustang.

The car itself is undergoing a major overhaul with the advent of the new Gen3 rules.

Tickford has the added bonus of having four pools of data to trawl through via four different drivers.

Given all teams and drivers are on a clean slate, Fraser is eager to play a key role in Tickford’s Gen3 development.

"I’ve been in a big team before, but obviously that was in a Super2 role,” Fraser said.

"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.”

Fraser is one of three rookies — along with Matt Payne and Cameron Hill — on the 2023 grid.

Hill will race a Matt Stone Racing Camaro, while Payne will steer a Penrite Racing Ford.

Fraser will arrive in 2023 arguably most confident of all, having closed out last year’s Super2 title.

With Fraser’s signing, Tickford has now handed five solo debuts to drivers aged 25 or younger since 2014.

Chaz Mostert was 22 in 2014, Cam Waters 22 in 2016, Thomas Randle 25 in 2021 (wildcards), and 21-year-olds Kostecki and Zak Best (wildcard) last year.

Tickford now has three former Super2 champions in Waters (2015), Randle (2020) and Fraser.

Tickford has made a habit of balancing of youth and experience

The Ford team's co-owner Rod Nash is confident Tickford's latest young gun will take the opportunity with both hands.

"We are delighted to welcome Declan to the team with TRADIE Racing for the 2023 season," Nash said.

"Declan has come along well in Super2 over the last couple of seasons and has developed into a strong young driver, we’re very happy to have him join the team.

"When the circumstances came about to bring a new driver into the team we decided to look for the best available, a lot like you see in a footy draft.

"We feel that Declan is as primed as anyone for this opportunity, so we are excited to welcome him ahead of the 2023 season.

"It is an exciting start to an exciting year ahead for our team, and we are looking forward to hitting the track with our Gen3 Mustangs in the coming weeks.”

The 2023 Repco Supercars Championship will commence in Newcastle on March 10-12.

Tickets are on sale on Supercars.com and Ticketek.com.