It was a frustrating time all round for Thomas Randle at Barbagallo Raceway in WA, which hosted the second round of the 2019 Dunlop Super2 Series last weekend. After scoring a maiden pole position and round podium at the circuit 12 months prior, Randle walked away from the weekend seventh overall for the round but did move up to eighth in the championship standings after the pair of twilight races.
Randle qualified sixth for the opening race of the weekend after struggling to get the maximum out of his new tyres, before scoring his second consecutive top-five finish of the season by claiming fifth in Friday’s Race 4. The 23-year old picked up one spot early on, but any hopes of launching an attack on snaring fourth position were spoiled when he was continuously held up by a lapped car in the dying stages.
“It was a good points day for us, so it’s hard to be upset with fifth, but I felt I could have pressured for fourth if I hadn’t been held up for so long. Brodie (Kostecki) was off the lead lap and came out of the pits right in front of me and I nearly lost a spot getting stuck behind him. It was frustrating, but again, a pretty good result in the end. “
A disappointing qualifying result on Saturday, due to an ill-handling car, meant Randle was in for a recovery run in Race 5, which he started from 11th position. A strong start and good opening lap saw good progress made and using clever race-craft and sustained pressure Randle managed to improve four positions over the course of the 26-lap race, crossing the line in seventh place at the chequered flag.
“Qualifying was sub-optimal today and the car was difficult to drive. We didn’t really find any gain on the new tyres which put us in a tricky spot for the race. Starting P11 I was able to make my way through the pack and cross the line in seventh place with a much nicer car underneath me. Frustratingly, this year’s Perth round hasn’t been anywhere near as good as it was 12 months ago, and we now have plenty of homework to do to get the Skye Sands / Tickford Racing Falcon up near the pointy end at the next round in Townsville.”
The third round of the 2019 Dunlop Super2 Series takes place at the Reid Park street circuit in Townsville, QLD on the 5-7 of July.