Tickford rookie's winning Sandown head start

Tickford Racing young gun Brad Vaughan has scored a head start on his rivals ahead of the next Dunlop Series round at Sandown.

Vaughan, 19, is currently three rounds into his Dunlop Series career in the Super2 category.

The 2022 Super3 champion took to Sandown over the weekend aboard a Ford AU Falcon in the Saloon Cars Nationals category.

The saloon category, which supported Round 4 of the Victorian State Circuit Racing Championships, was headlined by four heats.

Vaughan won the final heat in his blue Falcon, having finished fifth, seventh and second in the first three races.

The track time was a crucial leg-up for Vaughan as he aims to end his maiden Super2 season on a high, given his 2023 campaign was undone by two DNFs.

Vaughan was tangled up in the Race 2 pile-up in Newcastle, and was later taken out in Perth after a clash with Walkinshaw Andretti United’s Zach Bates.

The South Australian is 12th in the Super2 standings, but has shown impressive pace, notably taking a pole position in Perth.

The teenager has run inside the top 10 at all three rounds this season, and has finishes of sixth (Newcastle), second (Perth), 12th and fourth (Townsville).

Vaughan is partnering Elly Morrow in an all-new Tickford Super2 line-up, and is being engineered by Supercars race winner Dilan Talabani.

Talabani notably helped Andre Heimgartner to victory at The Bend — the site of this weekend’s OTR SuperSprint — in 2021 with Kelly Grove Racing.

The Super2 and Super3 seasons will resume at the Penrite Oil Sandown 500 on September 15-17.

Drivers will tackle two 40-minute sprints, with the development series supporting the first main game enduro of the season.