Tickford shakes down first in-house built Gen3 Mustang

Tickford Racing's first in-house built Gen3 Ford Mustang has hit the track for the first time, at the hands of Cam Waters.

Marked chassis TR-33, the Mustang rolled out for a new car shakedown at Winton Motor Raceway on Friday.

The new cars will make their competitive debuts at next weekend’s Tyrepower Tasmania Super 440, Round 5 of the 2026 Repco Supercars Championship.

TR-33 represents a number of milestones for Tickford, which has expanded its engineering arm in recent years.

In the second half of 2025, in collaboration with Tickford Engineering, Tickford Racing committed to becoming an approved Gen3 chassis manufacturer through Supercars.

Tickford commissioned a brand new chassis jig in the later part of 2025, utilising Engineering, Machine Shop and Fabrication departments.

Production began on TR-33 in early 2026. The chassis was painted and returned to the workshop after March’s Melbourne round, where Sub-Assembly and Composites started delivering pieces for the car to come together.

Approximately 40 staff members across Engineering, Fabrication, Composites and Sub-Assembly contributed to TR-33, which is the eighth Gen3 chassis operated by Tickford.

"To be in a brand new car is always exciting, but to be in the first Tickford Gen3 chassis the team has built is even more special,” Waters said.

"It’s been a massive effort from everyone at the factory getting TR-33 ready. A big thank you has to go to the whole team, especially those who put in the late nights to get it finished.

"A special mention to Paulie, who played a huge role in pulling it all together. It’ll be great to get some laps at Winton just to iron out any early bugs before we head to Symmons Plains.

"We’ve had some strong results in Tassie in the past, so it’s eyes forward on heading back there next week and trying to replicate that form.”

Tickford has also commenced works on its second new car, which is set to debut at the hands of Thomas Randle later in the year.

"Today marks an important day for the organisation as we rollout and shakedown the new Gen3 chassis,” Tickford CEO Simon Brookhouse said.

"It’s a testament to everyone who has contributed to this project within the Engineering and Racing departments to develop the in-house chassis production at our Campbellfield workshop.

"We are always aiming to develop new engineering opportunities as an organisation and to now be an approved chassis manufacturer for the category is a positive step in the right direction.

"As a race team, to provide Cam with a new chassis is a great opportunity to kick start this next phase of the Supercars season on a positive note.

"Tasmania has delivered strong results for us in the past and we will look to replicate that next week when we return.”

Erebus Motorsport will shake down its new Chevrolet Camaro for Cooper Murray next week before cars are transported to Tasmania.

Track action at Symmons Plains commences on Friday May 22.