How Randle went from zero-to-hero in Taupō fightback

Few drivers started the Taupō weekend in the wars quite like Thomas Randle, after ending practice in the top three, encountered a shocking first race.

Starting 12th, the seas parted for Randle in the first race of the weekend, moving to ninth on lap 1. On lap 5, he made an attempt on Anton De Pasquale at Turn 1, but sent Chaz Mostert into a spin and copped a 15-second penalty.

With pit stops taken under Safety Car, Randle carried the penalty for the rest of the race. Restarting sixth, Randle got stuck into it with Ryan Wood, before falling back into a battle with Brodie Kostecki and Will Brown.

The Castrol Ford was then sent into a spin by Kostecki, with Randle 20th at the finish and reclassified 22nd in a race Tickford Racing teammate Cam Waters finished second.

From there, the 2020 Super2 champion completely turned around his weekend, finishing sixth and fifth versus Waters' 14th and 12th to out-score his teammate for the first time this season.

For a time, Randle sat second in the finale after benefiting from the Kostecki-Wood lap 1 incident, before coming home fifth.

The top six results could prove crucial in Randle's Finals bid, with the Victorian just one point ahead of 10th placed Andre Heimgartner, and 49 ahead of 12th placed Wood.

“It was a pretty eventful race, that first stint was a lot of fun,” Randle said in a team video.

“Started fifth, and got up tor second there. Thought like we were were on for a podium possibly, but there was a long way to go.

“The pit stop, I was long, didn’t help the guys and girls in the stop, and the left front was slow. Our pace probably wasn't as good later in the race. But still, to come home with a top five is really good. Sixth yesterday, fifth today.

"Good solid points. Nice way to end the weekend."

While Waters took most headlines, Randle's comeback impressed Tickford boss Rod Nash, who said: “It wasn’t Cam Waters’ weekend, but it is what it is.

"He had broken suspension, he speared off in qualifying, then he had a wheel nut drama in the pit stop on Sunday.

“The job for Thomas Randle was gathering points and he was consistent, which is great, with plenty of points after qualifying in the top 10.

“It was not completely disastrous, but we’ve had two meetings now where we’ve been hanging in there, so the job now is to find our way back to the front.”