Dalton eyeing statement season, 2027 promotion

If Lochie Dalton's hunger to break into the main game wasn't obvious, his response to a shock error in Darwin only rams the point home.

Running second to Campbell Logan in Race 1 at Darwin, Dalton looked set to cruise to second and substantially grow his points lead when he fired off at Turn 1 on the penultimate lap.

He was fortunate to only drop two positions in the final running order, aided by a race that ran green for all 40 minutes and a lack of gravel on the outside of Turn 1, however his response on Sunday would be telling.

Sure enough Dalton claimed his third pole in a row, before getting a good enough start to lead the field through the opening lap, and never looked like losing, Redemption was sweet, and the only option for the Tasmanian.

"If I didn't win that one I was going to be filthy, I made a pretty bad mistake yesterday," Dalton said post-round.

"Got pretty hot in the car and then we had a little bit of fuel issues and whatnot, so I was in a filthy mood until I crossed that line for the race."

The Darwin heat, which triggered two driver changes for Sunday's main game race, had also taken it's toll on the 24-year-old, who admitted he still wasn't feeling 100% for the finale.

"I actually wasn't feeling that great, I was pretty cooked from yesterday's race.

"I wasn't feeling totally well, so luckily the car was in tip-top condition and it was really good to drive.

"Crucial to bounce back after a silly mistake, so really glad I got that one off, but I had full confidence that if I got my start right I would be right."

With an extended points lead secured, Dalton now wants to drive home the advantage entering a busy second half of the year for Super2.

Dalton's had to bide his time this year, having watched Rylan Gray, Zach Bates, Jobe Stewart, and Jackson Walls all earn promotions to the main game for 2026.

The 2025 Boost Mobile Pole Award winner has his eyes set on joining that group next year, and knows that he has to put himself front and centre in the shopfront window for main game teams. Dalton's plan to do that? Complete domination.

"I'll just try and win every race and win everything I can, and hopefully something comes my way, and I can drive full-time."

Having finished runner-up to then-teammate Gray last year at Tickford, the Launceston hope moved to Blanchard Racing Team for this season, the squad making a last-minute expansion to two Mustangs to accomodate.

It's taken him no time at all to get up to speed, securing BRT's first poles and wins since Jack Perkins' part-time 2024 season.

When asked if the strong start came as a shock, Dalton answered: "Not really, I'm very confident in our guys and the car and package we have, everyone puts in so much effort.

"A lot of people don't realise how much work there is behind the scenes, especially for the crew and all of Blanchard Racing, so they've put an enormous amount of effort in for both our cars.

"It's good to repay them. Yesterday was on me, so it's good to repay them today."

Dalton leads Logan by 75 points heading into the third round of the 2026 DUNLOP Super2 Series at the Bosch Power Tools Perth Super 440 from July 31-August 2.