Lochie Dalton enters Bathurst as 1000 dark horse
Super2 Series leader to pair with 2025 star Cooper Murray
Dalton takes 69-point Super2 lead to Mount Panorama
In 2025, Lochie Dalton entered Bathurst as the hunter in the DUNLOP Super2 Series. In 2026, he's the hunted, and is loving every moment of it.
Boasting a 50% strike rate in the development series in what started out as a last-minute deal to join the Blanchard Racing Team, Dalton has firmly placed himself as the next cab off the rank for a Supercars promotion.
Bathurst marks the next big opportunity for the BRT recruit to impress, with two race-winning opportunities in both the Repco Bathurst 1000 and both Super2 sprints.
Teaming up with a fired up Cooper Murray at Erebus Motorsport makes for one of the most intriguing young gun combinations on the Mountain this year, however he isn't losing track of his primary goal in winning this year's Super2 crown, vowing to place equal attention across his duties.
"Both are equal. I mean, Bathurst is the biggest race of the year, so you wanna win that one, but I've also got a Super2 championship I want to win at the same time," Dalton told Supercars.com.
"I've got to put effort into both of them. I think last year I probably focused on the Super2 the most all the way up to the big race on Sunday, but I think it's a little bit different this year.
"I know my role is as a co-driver this year, I'm not qualifying the car so I just have to be the fastest I can over a race in the main game car.
"I don't need to be going there and trying to hang the thing out of the fence in practice, but in the Super2 car I have to qualify the car and be as fast as I can."
Dalton narrowly missed out on the 2025 Super2 title to then-Tickford teammate Rylan Gray after surging in the second half of the season, and has vowed to give equal attention to his double duties as he looks to extend his 69-point Super2 lead.
The Tasmanian will line up for his second Great Race start in 2026, having made his debut in trying conditions last year, which he and title rival Gray survived to finish 13th in a Tickford wildcard.
Reflecting on the week in which he made his Bathurst 1000 debut, Dalton added: "I just wanted to put as much pressure in the Super2 car as I could on Rylan for the championship, and really showcase what I could do.
"Then I had to try and look after him as a teammate and a co-driver in the main race, it was a pretty funny weekend."
Bathurst begins a busy second half of the 2026 Super2 season, shifting forward to the fourth round of six after being the penultimate round of the season since 2022.
Mount Panorama has seen the undoing of title runs before, most notably Kai Allen's nightmare weekend of 2024 that saw him crash twice, effectively ending his bid for back-to-back titles.
However, Dalton isn't daunted by the Mountain's reputation, having swept both pole positions, including in the inaugural Bathurst Super2 Top Five Shootout, and claiming the Friday race win.
"You've just got to go there and keep the two categories totally separate, we'll do our thing," said Dalton.
"I'm always pretty confident and feel good around Bathurst, so we'll just keep the two cars separate, hit our marks, and we should have a good weekend."
Round 4 of the DUNLOP Super2 Series will be held at the Repco Bathurst 1000 from October 8-11.
