Tickford owner summons debrief after team order call

Cam Waters has praised his strong relationship with Thomas Randle amid Tickford Racing team owner Rod Nash calling a post-race debrief in Tasmania after team orders were issued between its drivers.

In a thrilling Saturday afternoon sprint race that saw Broc Feeney claim the championship lead with his second win of the day, Randle looked to be a big threat to Feeney. However, it was Waters who had the stronger pace at the end of the 50 lapper.

With 10 laps to go, Randle was in third behind Nick Percat, who had leapt into the fight for the podium after electing to put two tyres on his #10 Bendix Racing Camaro from Matt Stone Racing.

Waters was the latest of the frontrunner to stop, and was inching his way towards Randle when the team made the call to swap positions with 10 laps to go, with Waters promoted to the podium as a result.

Waters was unable to pass the 2011 Bathurst winner to climb into second, but was told to maintain position. Waters ultimately crossed the line 2.6s ahead of Randle, with Macauley Jones, James Golding, Matt Payne and Jaxon Evans within 2.8s of the Castrol Ford at the finish.

All told, Waters had closed a 1.2 sec gap to Randle within three laps of moving into fourth behind him. There were still 10 laps to go when the swap happened, with Waters likely to have completed a pass anyway.

There is a six-point difference in points awarded between third and fourth, and crucially, Waters would’ve dropped below Brown to third if he’d given Randle the spot back.

Waters was appreciative of Randle's cooperation, but it was not enough to wrestle the championship lead, with Feeney holding a 13-point advantage over the #6 Mustang.

"Massive thanks to Tommy and car 55 for letting me through, definitely have to repay them for that one," said Waters post-race.

"It's a hard one, because the team were obviously really proactive because they knew I had a really fast car, and we were going to try and get Nick.

"I probably would've passed Tom anyway, but they said don't redress in the end, so I kind of did the team card. I'll remember that one, I'll thank Tom, I'll buy him a beer, and I'll repay him down the track.

Randle made no comment on the matter on the broadcast, as he was headed straight to Tickford's transporter for the impromptu meeting. In a social media post, he labelled Saturday a "good day for the team," then told media that the call was "probably a miscommunication with how it was worded."

Speaking in the press conference, Waters added: "It's a hard one, the team said we'd redress it, but at the end of the day, I probably would've passed him anyway.

"It was a tricky one to be honest, but I think what it shows is that Tom and I have a really good relationship, and as teammates, we're trying to push together to get the team as many points as we can.

"I said to him that I'll return the favour. We've just got to keep pushing together and make sure we're beating these other guys."

It's not the first time that the Tickford pair have been involved in an awkward situation surrounding team orders, after Waters reluctantly didn't challenge Randle's podium placing in 2023 at The Bend, amid a lean patch for the Monster Mustang.

On-track action at the Snowy River Caravans Tasmania Super 440 continues tomorrow with Boost Mobile Qualifying for Race 13 at 9:35am AEST, before the Boost Mobile Top Ten Shootout at 11:55am AEST.