TWO bright talents rising up the Supercars pecking order will head into their Darwin debuts boosted by low-key pre-event visits to Hidden Valley.

Zach Bates is ranked second of the five first-year drivers in the main game field, entering a venue where his Matt Stone Racing squad has form.

The Canberran won’t go in blind, having had the chance to familiarise himself with Hidden Valley in a Project Blueprint-spec Supercar prior to last month’s Tasmania Super440.

“It’s always a great opportunity to sample a track you haven’t been to before you actually go there,” Bates told V8 Sleuth.

Zach Bates’ Darwin livery. Pic: Supplied

“It’s a traditional track that’s been on the calendar for so many years, so it was great to be able to go there and drive an old Supercar, something not too far from what we’re doing in Gen3 land. A big thank you to MSR for organising it.”

It’s a similar story for Super2 equal points leader Lochie Dalton, who broke up the four-month gap between second-tier rounds by taking part in a local Darwin meeting at Hidden Valley.

“It literally is like an off-season. I think it is bigger than the off-season we had,” the Blanchard Racing Team Super2 driver told V8 Sleuth.

“The most important thing was to have a strong first round, otherwise you’re going four months basically dwelling on having a shit round. So having a strong first round keeps everyone motivated and on the right path.

“Then it was just keep busy as much as you can throughout the break and whatnot which I’m lucky to do with the GT4 Series with (Aaron Cameron), that’s really important, and then I’m fortunate enough to have good partners who also love cars…

“I actually snuck up and got a few laps in up in Darwin. I hadn’t been there before, so I got a few laps in a Commodore Cup car.

“It was really cool, it was just a little local event through Brett Holdsworth, he organised it for me, so just cut some laps up there. It was good, just a good fun weekend and got to learn the track.”

Dalton will race for Erebus Motorsport in the 2026 Repco Supercars Championship enduros, partnering Cooper Murray in the #99 Camaro.

Lochie Dalton. Pic: Ross Gibb