Dalton, 23, is currently in his third Super2 season and is set for his second wildcard start following a main game debut with Tickford at Sydney Motorsport Park last July.

This time it’s part of a four-event Tickford wildcard program that will have Rylan Gray compete in Darwin before the youngsters team up for the Bend 500 and Bathurst 1000.

“Every weekend for a wildcard is an audition,” said Dalton at the Wanneroo circuit. “You don’t just come here to do it for fun, you want to be here, it’s serious. It’s an audition in a way.”

If Dalton does progress to a main game seat in the coming years, it won’t be with Tickford, which on Wednesday confirmed contract extensions for Cam Waters and Thomas Randle.

Dalton still has a lot to prove in Super2, although encouragingly his best weekend to date came at Wanneroo Raceway in 2023 when he scored a podium while driving for Brad Jones Racing.

The Tasmanian is hopeful of a competitive showing this weekend, where he’ll have Waters and Randle to lean on, as well as mentor Mark Winterbottom.

“It’ll be good fun around here. It’s a short track, a bit like Tassie, you’ve got to get everything right to be in the mix,” he said.

“I’ve got no real expectations. It’d be nice to be in the top 15 to the 10, that’d be the ultimate goal, but I know as long as I put my best foot forward, I’ll have a fast car.

“Tickford is always quick here, so we’ll see what happens.”

The wildcard Mustang, an ex-Cameron Waters machine, is sporting a blue and white livery with major backing from scrap metal recycler Recycal.

Its carries the #5 that is synonymous with Tickford but has not been used on a full-time entry since the team scaled back from four to two full-time cars in 2024.

Tickford’s wildcard car was the subject of a bizarre post on the team’s social media channels in the lead-up to the campaign, where the team claimed the Mustang had been stolen.