Lodge joins junior talent program

Tickford Autosport has added Australian Porsche Sprint Cup driver James Lodge as its latest candidate for the Tickford Development Pathway Program.

Aimed at identifying up-and-coming motorsport talent, the program is designed to work with drivers by exposing them to the Tickford Autosport team through a number of outlets.

Through test days, race weekends and engineering sessions, the development drivers will experience everything that happens within the four walls of the Tickford Autosport program.

From the development pathway, the aim is to transition the driver through the Autosport program and into its successful Dunlop Series entries.

The Tickford Racing organisation has a strong history of identifying, developing and providing full time Dunlop Series and Supercars seats to drivers throughout the years. The key to the success of the program is the development that is on offer through various motorsport pathways that the team can offer.

Lodge will work closely with the Tickford Autosport program throughout the 2026 season, attending Dunlop Series test days, Dunlop series events as well as time at the Campbellfield Factory.

Beginning his karting career at 11-years-old, Lodge has developed his skills to be a serious contender after scoring a podium in just his third race in Cadet 12 while still on his racing P Plates.

Whilst continuing to display his talent on Australian shores, Lodge was invited by Marco Parolin to race overseas, and the move demonstrated his talents on the world stage as he raced against top global talent in karting.

He has since returned to Australia and featured in several categories including the GR Cup Australia in 2024 where he finished runner up with four wins and 10 podiums.

Lodge then switched to the Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge Australia 2025, where he achieved two race wins, two round wins and 11 podiums in his campaign. 

The team says it is actively looking to grow the talent with the Development Pathway Program and will continue to build a strong base of drivers for the years to come.

“James is an incredible young talent, and we are really excited to welcome him to the Development Program and Tickford Autosport,” Director of Motorsport, Rod Nash, said.

“Our team has done an incredible job over the years identifying talented athletes that work with the team in the hunt to become a full time Supercars driver, and todays announcement is no different to that.

“There’s no doubt that James belongs in this program, as a home-grown talent; we see him going very far in the sport and we look forward to supporting his pursuit for a main game seat.”

Lodge will be present at a Dunlop Series test with the Autosport team at Winton on Tuesday this week and will be completing some laps in the Ford Mustang throughout the test day.

“I’m extremely excited to be joining Tickford Autosport. It’s a fantastic opportunity to be able to work with such a high level team – arguably the top team in the Dunlop Series,” Lodge said.

“The teams success last year and throughout this year in the Series has been outstanding, so to be able to learn as much as I can from those guys and also the main game boys, Tom (Randle), Cam (Waters) and Frosty (driver coach Mark Winterbottom), will be incredibly valuable for me in my development as a racing driver.

“I’m extremely grateful to everyone at Tickford, I’m super excited to get to work this year, continue learning and work towards building a future career as a Supercars driver.”