Brown was slapped with a five-second time after he pushed Randle off the track at Turn 7 on Lap 49, although it became moot when he beat Will Davison to third at the chequered flag by more than six seconds and therefore held on to the final podium place.
That may have explained why the Red Bull Ampol Racing driver seemed to feel only somewhat aggrieved when he spoke in his post-race television interview.
“I thought it was pretty good racing,” said Brown.
“I was working hard to get to him and I thought down there, ‘I’m just going to hold my position, try the switchback,’ and I thought he moved under brakes but that is what it is.
“We got a five-second penalty; unfortunate for him, he was having a really good race.”
Randle had taken a defensive line just one corner earlier, where they also touched, before the nudge down at Turn 7 which pushed the #55 Mustang into the dirt.
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Asked by Speedcafe to elaborate on this thoughts in the press conference, Brown said, “The penalty was what it was, we still ended up third.
“You know, it was a good battle. I hit the brakes because I thought he was coming across and I locked a front trying to back out of what was happening with that.
“And then we ended up tangling but I was as far left as I could go, so it is what it is.”
Randle, who dropped two positions by the time he got back onto the race track, and briefly another on the following lap, had a different take.
“I haven’t spoken to Will; It’d be nice if he comes up and says something,” he told Speedcafe.
“I definitely got hit in the rear and obviously we ended up in the dirt and lost two spots.
“Look, he did have a tyre advantage. I was just hoping to battle him for a few laps to blow his tyres, hopefully, and then have a nice little battle to the end.
“Like I said, it definitely got a hit in the rear. Anyway, just one of those things.
“Look, I’ve been on the other end of it, I’ve hit people and got a penalty. [In] Our penalty system, it’s not a-15 second – 15 seconds is turning someone – but a five-second’s like a bump and run, and I guess where do you draw the line on how much is that a bump and…?
“Like, I lost more than five seconds and somehow held onto fifth after all my tyres are absolutely flat-spotted. It’s one of those things.”
Brown’s third place saw him extend his championship lead over team-mate Broc Feeney to 136 points.
There was also an upside for Randle in finishing fifth after a tough 2023 and a mostly similar start to 2024.
“To be honest – it’s probably going to sound weird – but it’s a good frustration,” added the Tickford Racing driver.
“I really feel like we’ve stepped up as a team this weekend, been a really big regroup since Taupo, and for Cam [Waters, team-mate] to get a podium yesterday and a win today…
“Granted, I guess I played a part in that definitely, with what happened in the lane.
“I didn’t want to hold [Waters] up [while chasing Chaz Mostert], because I really thought he had the best chance of getting the win there, and if I hadn’t blown the lap yesterday in quali, I think we could have had a top five result yesterday.
“So, definitely steps forward, and we’ve also we’ve moved up to third in the teams’ championship, both drivers in the top 10 in the championship.
“Overall, although we would have liked some silverware for the Castrol car, it’s been a positive weekend.”
Waters’ win was Tickford’s first since the 2023 season finale in Adelaide.
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