Stewards explain repeated Brown/Randle contact

A stewards report has shed light on how Will Brown and Thomas Randle both went unpunished over their late-race clashes in Sunday’s action-packed Tasmania finale.

Brown finished second behind winner Cam Waters, as Randle was classified 18th following contact with Broc Feeney in the closing laps.

Randle initially ended up behind Feeney after a robust exchange with Brown on lap 44 of 55, with the former surfing through the grass exiting Turn 7.

Randle’s off came after he hit Brown at Turn 4, helping the Tickford Racing driver gain a run on the championship leader down the back straight to Turn 6.

Brown filed in behind Randle into Turn 6, where the Triple Eight driver made contact and got down the inside. The two made contact again through Turn 7, with Randle running onto the grass.

As Randle remonstrated over a “bump and run” by Brown, Feeney sailed through into third, before their fateful clash at the same corner five laps later.

Sunday's clashes followed Randle and Brown's run-in in Perth in May, which saw Brown penalised.

The stewards report reads:

On Lap 44 there were multiple instances of contact between Cars 55 and 87, commencing at Turn 4 and ending at Turn 7 when Car 55 went wide off the edge of the track onto the grass. Broadcast footage showed that Car 55 had made contact with Car 87 at Turn 4 and gained a run on Car 87 on the back straight as a result of that contact. Car 87 regained the position at the apex of Turn 6 through to Turn 7 with minor contact but, the track positions of the Cars having been restored to what it had been at the entry to Turn 4 and noting that each Driver had contributed to the instances of contact, the DRD in consultation with the DRD determined that the matter did not warrant referral to the Stewards.

Another incident wasn’t passed onto the stewards, a lap 12 collision between Ryan Wood and James Golding. Available footage determined Golding “turned in too shallow” for Turn 1, with Wood found not to have completed an overtake “unfairly."

The report reads:

During the Race the DRD in consultation with the DSA investigated an allegation by PremiAir Racing that Car 2 had gained an advantage from contact with Car 31 at Turn 1 on Lap 12. Broadcast footage of the incident showed that Car 31 had turned in too shallow for Turn 1 and had run wide at the exit and Car 2 overtook Car 31 on the inside. There was minor contact but Car 2 did not achieve the overtake unfairly. There being no evidence of any breach of the Rules by the Driver of Car 2, the matter did not warrant referral to the Stewards.

There were seven penalties handed out in the race; Randle’s 15-second penalty over the Feeney clash, a drive-through for Aaron Love over his collision with Jaxon Evans, a drive-through each for David Reynolds and Matt Payne for failing to stop at the red light at pit exit, and three for Brodie Kostecki.

Kostecki was first given a 15-second penalty over turning Reynolds at the hairpin, before being slapped with two drive-through penalties; one for breaching the pit lane speed limit and failing to activate the limiter before the line, and for an unsafe release on Mark Winterbottom.