With his main game Supercars debut in sight, Thomas Randle has revealed the colours of the No. 66 Scandia Racing Ford Mustang, which he will race at The Bend SuperSprint, August 23-25. Halfway through his sophomore year in Super2, Supercars’ uppermost development category, Randle has asserted himself as a genuine contender, having all-but dominated the Super2 weekend at Ipswich late last month en route to his first race win and second career round podium.
The 23-year old Randle is eager to make the step up to the main game, which will come as Supercars makes its second appearance at The Bend Motorsport Park outside Tailem Bend.
“It’s just like being drafted from the VFL up to the AFL for a match, so it’s a real dream come true,” Randle said. “I’m very excited to be making my main game Supercars Championship debut, and I’ve just got to thank everyone from Tickford Racing who’s helped put this together over the past couple months. Of course I’ve got to thank Scandia for coming on board as the primary partner on the car, as well as Skye Sands, ACT Fence Hire, V8 Sleuth, Castrol, Lifeview Residential Care, and McQuinn Electrical, it’s really cool to have so many partners throwing support behind my main game debut. It’s been a dream of mine since I was a kid to race in Supercars, and it’s going to be super awesome to finally drive a Mustang Supercar on my own for a round at Tailem Bend in less than a fortnight.”Randle now sits fourth in the championship, only seven points behind third. The fifth round of the 2019 Dunlop Super2 Series takes place at Mount Panorama at Bathurst, NSW on the 10-13 of October.
Family-owned Scandia, which has manufactured wood and gas fire stoves for over 65 years, joined Tickford Racing in January as an associate partner on Cameron Waters’ No. 6 Monster Energy Ford Mustang. When the opportunity came about to expand the partnership in the form of a wild card entry, CEO Jake Cassar jumped at the chance.
“We’ve enjoyed a great first half of the year with Cam and Tickford Racing, so when we were approached about being the naming rights partner for Tom’s wild card entry we felt it was a great opportunity,” Cassar said. “Tom is of course a really bright young man and a future star of the sport, so we’re thrilled to help make his Supercars debut a reality. We’re huge fans of the Mustang, so to have a full Mustang in Scandia black and orange is really exciting, and we can’t wait to see Tom mixing it up with the stars of Supercars at The Bend.”
Tickford Racing CEO and team principal Tim Edwards was key in bringing Randle aboard Tickford’s Super2 program in 2018, and has been pleased with the 23-year old’s progress to this stage in his young career.
“We’ve been working hard for a while on getting Tom a crack in the main game, so we’re happy to finally roll it out for Tailem Bend.” Edwards said. “We’re very grateful to Scandia and excited to see them step up their involvement to make this happen. Tom’s been a great addition to the team and obviously is really coming along as a driver, so we’re looking forward to getting him in a Mustang to race against the main game boys.”
Randle, who is also a mechanical engineering student at Swinburne University, will pilot one of five Mustangs operated by Tickford Racing on the weekend, and one of seven in the 26-car field. It will be Tickford Racing’s first wild card entry since the 2015 Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000.
“In addition to Scandia, we’ve had a number of current and a couple of new partners come on board for this effort, which shows that he’s made a pretty good impression in just 18 months with the team,” Edwards continued. “We’re throwing him in the deep end, so we’re keeping our expectations in check, but we’re eager to see how he goes.”
Thomas Randle will get his first taste of the No. 66 Scandia Racing Ford Mustang Tuesday at Winton Motor Raceway, where all five Tickford Racing Mustangs are set to test. The Bend SuperSprint takes place next weekend, August 23-25 in South Australia.
