Brown, Randle divided over Perth clash

Will Brown penalised over Thomas Randle clash
Brown kept P3 despite penalty, Randle finished P5
Randle says five-second penalty was "pretty light-on"

Will Brown and Thomas Randle have offered differing opinions over their clash late in the Bosch Power Tools Perth SuperSprint finale, which resulted in a penalty for the points leader.

As both drivers disputed third place on lap 49 of 55, Brown made contact with Randle at Turn 7, sending the #55 Ford into the Turn 7 sand trap and down to fifth behind Will Davison.

Shortly afterwards, officials advised that Brown had been hit with a five-second time penalty. However, the points leader hung onto his podium finish, with Davison over six seconds behind at the chequered flag.

Just before the Turn 7 incident, Randle had taken a defensive line around Turn 6 and continued it down the back straight, before contact dropped him down to fifth.

“I thought it was pretty good racing,” Brown said in PIRTEK Victory Lane.

“I was working hard to get to him and I thought down there, ‘I'm just going to hold my position, try the switchback,' and I thought he moved under brakes. But, that is what it is.

“We got a five-second penalty — unfortunate for him, he was having a really good race.”

The podium helped Brown extend his championship lead over teammate Broc Feeney to 136 points, with Feeney a frustrated seventh from 12th on the grid. Asked in the post-race press conference, Brown added: “The penalty was what it was, we still ended up third... it was a good battle.

"I hit the brakes because I thought he was coming across, and I locked a front trying to back out of what was happening with that.

"And then we ended up tangling but I was as far left as I could go, so it is what it is.”

Randle was forced to stave off Anton De Pasquale straight after his off and was classified fifth, with Brown not affected in the results after the penalty.

The Tickford Racing driver believes a five-second penalty wasn’t harsh enough, telling Supercars.com: “I took two tyres in my stop and Will took four, so he was obviously coming at us pretty strong.

“I was just hoping that by the time he got to me, I could battle him for a few laps just to sort of blow his tyres off. I wasn't going to make life too easy for him.

“I covered into Turn 7, went to turn in and copped a hit in the back and got sent off into the sand. I was pretty lucky to actually get back on the track and not DNF.

“I thought the penalty was pretty light-on — he actually didn't even lose a position. I've been on the other end of it too as well. Perhaps we need to work out a penalty that actually does cost you a position.

"Whether or not I would've hung on, who knows — but it would've been nice to actually race him. There were six laps to go and he was on fresh tyres, so I'm sure he could’ve made his way through cleanly.

“At the end of the day, it's nice to be in that position, battling Will and fighting for podiums. But I’ve stored that one away in my memory bank.”

Supercars legends Mark Skaife and Garth Tander agreed with decision to award a penalty, and to do so during the race. However, they also suggested Brown got off lightly.

“I don’t think it’s harsh enough — I reckon Will Brown should've got 10 seconds instead of five,” Skaife said on Supercars Trackside.

“He actually turns into Thomas and runs into the back of the car, and it put him off the road. Five seconds, I reckon he got away with that one.”

Tander added: “Where Thomas actually ends up in the sandpit and loses I think three spots, that should have been a bigger penalty to Will.

"Will effectively didn't lose any spots, and he caused the contact. But I think the way that it was turned around very quickly and all handled in race, I think Bairdo I did a good job of that stuff."

Randle’s teammate Cam Waters won his first race of the season, after Saturday winner Chaz Mostert was penalised over an unsafe release — ironically, in front of Randle.