Lowndes factor driving Randle's Bathurst 12 Hour debut
Thomas Randle set for Bathurst 12 Hour debut
Randle will share Mercedes-AMG with Cam Waters and Craig Lowndes
Lowndes has two Bathurst 12 Hour wins, in 2014 and 2017
Thomas Randle is excited to make his Bathurst 12 Hour debut alongside legend Craig Lowndes in what looms as a dark horse entry in the once-round-the-clock race.
Tickford Racing teammates Randle and Cam Waters will share a Mercedes-AMG with two-time 12 Hour winner Lowndes at the February 16-18 event.
Lowndes is a 12 Hour regular, having won in 2014 and 2017, and has been with Scott Taylor Motorsport since 2022.
Waters, meanwhile, has two 12 Hour starts to his name, debuting in a Strakka Racing Mercedes back in 2018, before racing an Audi with Tony Bates and David Reynolds in 2022.
Randle’s debut will come as STM launches an outright attack on victory in the 12 Hour. It comes after the STM entry ran in class competition for the last two years, finishing 10th outright and first in class in 2022 driving a Porsche 911 GT3 Cup Car.
While in close quarters with Waters, the two set to lead Tickford in 2024, Randle has never worked with Lowndes before.
“I rang Craig the day after it was confirmed and we had a good chat about it, it’s exciting,” Randle told Supercars.com.
“It’s pretty cool to say you’re teaming up with Craig Lowndes, not many people can say they’ve done that.
“The Bathurst 12 Hour is a race I’ve always wanted to do, but never really had the right opportunity fall my way.
“To get in with Cam and Craig, but also to do it outright, is pretty cool. That doesn’t happen every day.
“Big thanks to Scotty Taylor and Ash Seward, they’ve been working flat out getting everything ready and making sure no stone is unturned.”
Randle is no stranger to high downforce cars, having enjoyed a prolific open wheel career.
Prior to Supercars, he raced in the likes of Formula 4, Toyota Racing Series, British Formula 3, Formula V8 3.5, Formula Renault and LMP3. However, he is still relatively green to GT racing.
He recently tested a Mercedes-AMG car, and won all three races in an older-generation, M-Sport built Bentley Continental GT3 in the Tin Tops class at The Bend in 2020.
Randle will, however, get plenty of miles in the STM Mercedes ahead of the 12 Hour, which comes a week before the 2024 Repco Supercars Championship opener, also at Mount Panorama.
"I used to race open wheelers in Europe, I also did LMP3 in the UK, so I'm used to downforce,” Randle said.
“I’ve done a lot of high-aero racing, that was sort of my background, but I'm fairly limited in GT cars. I’ve raced a Bentley GT a few times in 2020, I also drove a Mercedes GT car a few months, but only like 10 or so laps.
“But we’ve got plenty of time in the car before the 12 Hour, so we’ll be good to go, no doubt."
