'It doesn’t feel real': Randle devastated by Bathurst 12 Hour crash

Thomas Randle has accepted full responsibility for the incident that took the pole winning #222 Scott Taylor Motorsport Mercedes-AMG out of contention.

The all-Supercars Randle/Cam Waters/Chaz Mostert Mercedes was firmly in the hunt for victory at Sunday’s Meguiar’s Bathurst 12 Hour.

After taking over from Waters, who survived a wild battle with WRT BMW’s Valentino Rossi at the halfway mark, Randle restarted fourth after a Safety Car.

Randle caught Kerong Li's lapped #86 High Class Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) going up the Mountain. As Randle moved left, Li crossed over, leading to gentle front to rear contact.

However, the touch was enough to send the unloaded Mercedes into a spin and into the wall, forcing Randle into pit lane for repairs and driver change.

Mostert took over, but the car required further repairs. Mostert sent the #222 into the garage, with the pole winner dropping three laps. Speaking in the garage, a disconsolate Randle moved quickly to accept fault.

“My fault, I thought the Porsche was going right, so I went to go left and then he’s moved went left,” Randle said on the broadcast.

“I just touched it, and obviously very low grip at that point.”

It was another Bathurst heartbreaker for STM, which barely made daybreak 12 months ago after a crash for Craig Lowndes.

"The only person I can blame is myself. I’ve let the whole team down, because we had such a fast car,” Randle continued.

“It doesn’t feel real."