Randle, Allen looking to join growing Supercars trend

The ability of Supercars drivers compared to some of the world's best has arguably been a well-kept secret for many years. However, the last few seasons have seen more and more drivers try their hand elsewhere to maintain race fitness.

Shane van Gisbergen was something of a trailblazer when it came to balancing Supercars duties with other commitments, winning the Bathurst 12 Hour, GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup, and Supercars Championship in 2016.

GT drives have remained the domain of those looking for extra seat time in recent years, especially with GT World Challenge Australia moving to a calendar that doesn't have any Supercars clashes.

Over in New Zealand, Formula Regional Oceania has been a happy hunting ground for the likes of Will Brown, Broc Feeney, and Ryan Wood as they logged crucial pre-season racing miles against some

Thomas Randle is another to have dabbled in extracurricular drives over the past few years, notably in GT, speedway, the Bathurst 6 Hour, and Sports Sedans. Now, he wants even more opportunities.

"That's the goal absolutely. Just get a drive willy nilly would be great, but it's a lot more challenging than that to pick up drives along the way, making sure that you're actually getting something out of it," Randle told Supercars.com.

"I mean the speedway stuff been relatively new. I've only done one speedway event but it's such a different discipline but I feel like it helps with searching for grip, it's very, very different.

"And then the 12 Hour stuff, I’ve really enjoyed doing that. I’ll most likely be doing the Bathurst 6 Hour again with the Kavich brothers and Garth Walden Racing, that's always a fun event, and then I’d love to do more GT racing.

"If I could get some driving in GT World Challenge Australia that would be great. I got to do a one off last year with Marcel Zalloua and Tigani, which we actually got a podium on debut which was cool.

"That would be great just to do some more racing because as much as it's still a big calendar for Supercars as a driver, that's the best thing you can do is just driving race cars."

Another driver who has been logging plenty of extra miles has been Penrite Racing's Kai Allen, who has made first steps of his own into the realm of GT racing with the Grove squad.

The 20-year-old takes on his first 12 Hour alongside CEO Brenton Grove and enduro recruit Will Davison in a Pro class Mercedes, and got up to speed with an assault on the Dubai 24 Hour last month.

"I found of momentum towards the end of the year, and got quite comfortable in the car," Allen said on Supercars' new Warm Up Lap podcast.

"Obviously doing these two races, doing Dubai and the 12 Hour this weekend is really going to get my mind sharp, and make sure I show up in tip-top form when it comes to Sydney."

All told, 11 Supercars full-timers will take on the Bathurst 12 Hour this weekend, namely Randle, Allen, Chaz Mostert, Broc Feeney, Will Brown, Cam Waters, Ryan Wood, James Golding, Jayden Ojeda, Rylan Gray, and Zach Bates.

Meanwhile, Brodie Kostecki will be on the other side of the country piloting a sprintcar at the Perth Motorplex, whilst Wood returns to Australia having claimed rookie of the year honours in the Formula Regional Oceania Trophy in New Zealand.