Randle reveals reason behind Townsville slide
Thomas Randle in "damage control" with brake issue on Friday
Randle lost brake duct during Friday's sprint race at Reid Park
Tickford driver dropped from seventh on grid to 13th at finish
A missing brake duct was behind Thomas Randle’s slide from effective eighth to 13th in Townsville, which left the Tickford Racing star in “damage control.”
Randle kicked off Friday in Townsville with the fastest time in Practice 2, and qualified a solid seventh for the weekend's first of three races.
Brad Jones Racing’s Bryce Fullwood got by Randle in the opening corners of the race, but the 2020 Super2 champion held position until lap 13.
On lap 13, Randle was passed by championship leader Broc Feeney and dropped to 10th, with Chaz Mostert also getting through.
Once all stops were complete, Randle sat 10th, but was passed by Will Brown, Feeney, Ryan Wood and Andre Heimgartner in the closing laps.
Speaking in a Tickford social post, Randle revealed he lost a brake duct during the race, which severely hampered the Castrol Ford driver’s efforts to race his rivals.
Brake issues put Randle up against it, given Townsville is one of the toughest circuits on brakes; notably, cars decelerate from 255km/h to 65km/h at Turn 2.
“Race was a bit disappointing,” said Randle, who has now gone four straight races without a top 10 finish, and is only 63 points above 10th position.
“Started seventh and then we were eighth off the first corner. And then we lost the brake duct at some point.
"I don't know if that was during the stop or after the stop. So yeah, you need brakes, and it didn't really have much retardation in that last stint.
“It was just damage control, just bring the car home in one piece. A bit of a shame, because we had a pretty good start to the day and car's been quite quick.
“So, looking forward to get back into it tomorrow, another day, full reset and hopefully we can put the Castrol Mustang back up the front where it belongs.”
Supercars action resumes on Saturday with Boost Mobile Qualifying at 10:00am AEST, followed by the Boost Mobile Top Ten Shootout at 12:05pm. The first 200km race of the weekend, Race 21, commences at 3:00pm.
Foxtel/Kayo's Saturday coverage commences at 7:30am AEST, with the Seven Network taking live coverage from 12:00pm. Please check local guides.
