How drivers can 'definitely feel safe’ in Finals chase

Striking a perfect balance between too much and too little aggression in the second half of the Repco Sprint Cup could be pivotal in determining the makeup of the end of year Finals according to Thomas Randle.

One of the big storylines to emerge from the opening four rounds of the 2025 Repco Supercars Championship has been the fierce on-track action that has been encouraged by a relaxation of racing rules.

As a result, there has been plenty of door-to-door action, resulting in a thrilling four-way battle for Sprint Cup honours between Broc Feeney, Will Brown, Matt Payne, and Cam Waters, who are all separated by just 91 points.

Furthermore, the battle on the Finals bubble at the back end of the top 10 is just as intense, with James Golding (-15), Anton De Pasquale (-46), Nick Percat (-68), and Will Davison (-98) all within 100 points of Ryan Wood in 10th.

Although the 10 drivers who contest the Finals won't be decided until the conclusion of the Enduro Cup at the Repco Bathurst 1000 on October 12, being inside the Finals bubble ahead of the two biggest points days of the season could be crucial.

Tickford Racing's Thomas Randle rocketed himself into a strong position after having one of his best weekends of the season in Tasmania, vaulting to sixth in the standings 71 points ahead of the bubble.

After claiming pole for the opening race of the weekend, and claiming second and fourth in the two Saturday races, the Castrol Mustang found itself on the wrong end of aggression on Sunday, being spun by David Reynolds in the closing laps.

Although Finals pressure is only set to increase as the season builds towards Bathurst, Randle isn't convinced that the higher pressure will lead to the racing product becoming more aggressive.

“It's hard to say. I mean, will they be more aggressive than they were at the last four rounds? Probably not,” Randle told Supercars.com.

“There’s a balance — if you're too aggressive, then it's a risk because you could have a crash or damage your car, and get no points.

"I think everyone would just be going out to try and get maximum performance. In a perfect world, I'd like to be 300 points clear of 11th before Bathurst, so then you're definitely safe.”

The 29-year-old also stated that his goal for the remainder of the Sprint Cup is purely points-based, with the Victorian saying that scoring at least 200 points a weekend should give him a comfortable berth into the Finals.

However, the 2020 Super2 champion is also that things outside of his control could hinder those efforts, something he only knows too well after being spun out of a strong position in the final Tasmanian race by David Reynolds.

“There's only so much you can control in this sport. There's 23 other drivers out there, there are many variables,” Randle said.

“The goal is if you can leave a round and you've scored 200 plus points, then you're gonna be in a good shape. That's something that I've tried to work towards.

"We would've been done that if it wasn't for that incident late in the race in Tassie, but it did happen. You need to prevent those things from happening again.”

The 2025 Repco Supercars Championship will resume at the Bosch Power Tools Perth Super 440 from June 6-8.