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Ticktum, currently undergoing his second year in the all-electric championship, stayed loyal to the NIO team as they entered the new GEN3 era at the start of season 9. With the pace of the car, especially over one-lap and in qualifying, being very quick, NIO have targeted finishing the championship standings in eighth, a jump of two championship places compared to last year.
"I think that is probably the most I have concentrated for a given amount of time for a long time," Ticktum joked after securing a sixth place and collecting eight points.
Having qualified ninth for the inaugural Cape Town E-Prix, Ticktum managed to navigate his way up the grid, but it wasn't easy.
"It's a very bumpy, fast and challenging circuit. Even on one lap in qualifying, but for 30 laps in a row… trying to manage energy and everything else, people trying to lunge at you. It was pretty tough."
As well as the characteristics of a street circuit to manage, Ticktum elaborated on how drivers must take care of their new sustainable Hankook tyres.
"We have yet to experience the tyre going off in practice. We don't have very long practice sessions, so as the tyre gets hotter, it loses grip, like any other formula series. But in these high-speed corners, where you are bottoming out in the middle and having big snaps, it is hard to know how much to push and how much the tyre is going to go away from you."
'A big step forward in performance'
With NIO's Sergio Sette Camara, Ticktum's teammate, finishing fifth at the Hyderabad E-Prix last month, the Anglo-Chinese outfit is searching for more of these headline performances throughout the season.
"I think this year is definitely a step forward in terms of team performance," NIO's Team Principal, Alex Hui, stated ahead of the Cape Town race weekend.
"We're still lacking in resources and procedures in some areas, which we try to do as much as we can. But this year, the package is more or less frozen.
"Between this season and next season, the big manufacturers will be able to do more development with the current package, which we will try to do, but the rate of development for us as a smaller team will be more limited.
"We are already looking at Season 11 to see how to make a big step for the next package.
"Also, with the better results recently, I would say it is getting more momentum in terms of partnerships and all the other opportunities, which is fundamental to the success of motor racing. I think it's keeping good motivation for our colleagues."
With two top-six results back-to-back, a first under the NIO guise, the Anglo-Chinese outfit will be hoping for more of the same for the rest of the season.