Tickford Racing Team Principal Tim Edwards believes that Thomas Randle’s breakthrough podiums at The Bend are “a sign of things to come.”
Randle had finished in the top three of a Supercars Championship race previously, at the 2019 Sandown 500, but that was as a co-driver to Lee Holdsworth in the #5 Tickford entry.
At The Bend, he came home third in the opening race of the weekend, then backed that up with a pole position on the Sunday morning, followed by a second placing and another third, to be the (unofficial) round runner-up to championship leader Brodie Kostecki.
While Edwards continued to express pessimism about the parity (or perhaps lack thereof) between the Ford Mustang, which teams such as his field, and the Chevrolet Camaro, he did greet Tickford’s latest performance as a confidence-booster for the team.
Not only was Randle a constant on the podium in South Australia, Cam Waters scored a top three for the first time since he took the chequered flag in third place in Race 1 of the season in Newcastle, after which he was officially elevated to the victory given the disqualification of both of the Triple Eight Race Engineering entries.
“It’s been it’s been a tough year, so it’s been a bit of a drought for us,” said Edwards.
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“We’re used to being on the podium most weekends and it’s been tough for the team, so this is a good uplift for the team, a good confidence-booster.
“We’re certainly not confident that the same will be repeated at other rounds, but certainly [at The Bend] it’s fantastic for Thomas.
“Not only did he get his first [solo] podium, but he also got his first, second, and third, so that’s, I’m sure, is going to be a sign of things to come in the future.
“It’s great, and we’re pleased, and obviously JC [James Courtney] got some strong top 10 results as well.
“It’s been a happy hunting ground for us – we’ve had good car speed as a team here over the years – so I think that sort of played into our hands, as does the low degradation for the tyres.”
Randle admitted that he had started the Sunday of the event more relaxed after his Saturday breakthrough in the #55 Castrol Mustang, and the mood is good as an enduro campaign with Garry Jacobson as co-driver looms on the horizon.
“It was nice to get that off my back,” remarked the 27-year-old.
“It’s been a long time coming trying to get a solo podium, so I was probably a bit more relaxed [on the Sunday], and just concentrating on what I needed to do.
“It’s a nice way to lead into the enduros and I’m looking forward to teaming up with Garry Jacobson.
“So far, we’ve got off to a really good start in our relationship; had a couple of test days been rained out a little bit, but he’s had some good laps.
“He’s great to be around – a fantastic personality – [and] we’ve spent a lot of time in the simulator just working on a few things, and I think it’s going to be really good leading into Sandown.”
Tickford will test at Winton this Tuesday before the Penrite Oil Sandown 500 takes place on September 15-17.
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