Tickford Racing has welcomed its 2021 roster of sailors as part of the Team Navy Outplacement Program ahead of the looming Supercars season. As part of the program, Able Seaman Electronics Technician Nathan Steynberg, Leading Seaman Marine Technician – Electrical Damien Smith, and Leading Seaman Aviation Technician Aircraft Phillip Cowan will work for Tickford Racing full-time in 2021.
2021 marks the 10th year of this partnership which sees the sailors complete 12 months with the team in positions relevant to their roles in the navy.
“Our partnership with the Navy has gone from strength to strength over the years,” Roberts said. “The sailors bring applicable skills, discipline, and a great work ethic to the team, and genuinely contribute to our success on the track. We learn a lot from them and do our best to ensure they learn a lot from us, which makes for a very enjoyable partnership. A decade long partnership is significant in any sport, we are extremely grateful to have worked together successfully for so long, and we look forward to achieving more success together in 2021.”
The three sailors have started their work with Tickford Racing at the team’s headquarters in Melbourne, and will get their first taste of on-track action at the team’s pre-season test day on Tuesday, February 16 at Winton Motor Raceway. The 2021 Supercars Championship begins two weeks later with the Mount Panorama 500, February 26-28.