The Tickford Racing driver suffered a cool suit failure on the warm-up lap of yesterday’s 200-kilometre race, held in sweltering 32-degree conditions.
He battled his way through all 70-laps, leaving him with heat exhaustion so severe he couldn’t stand up after getting out of the car.
The Castrol backed driver was treated by the Supercars medical team after the race before being released back into the care of the team.
Randle took part in this morning’s qualifying session, however has since returned to the medical centre for further checks.
That has left his participation in today’s race in doubt, with a chance he’ll become the second regular driver sidelined along with Brodie Kostecki.
Tickford does have its four Super2 drivers – including Randle’s enduro co-driver Reuben Goodall – on the ground in Darwin, as well as Cam Waters’ enduro partner Mark Winterbottom, who is there on TV duties.
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Given qualifying has already taken place, Supercars and Motorsport Australia would need to sign off on a replacement driver if required.
Winterbottom said on the broadcast ahead of the Super2 Series race that there’s “a big chance” Randle will not compete in the Supercars finale.
“He’s woken up not well,” Winterbottom said of Randle.
“We saw the footage yesterday when he hopped out of the car with a cool suit failure.
“He tried his best in qualifying. You often think the adrenaline will kick in and get you going, but he’s not in a good way.
“There is a big chance that Thomas Randle will not race this afternoon.”
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