Randle aiming to maintain unbeaten Sports Sedans record
Thomas Randle is coming back to the Precision National Sports Sedans Series this weekend, keen to stay unbeaten as he prepares for the Sandown 500.
Thanks to Sports Sedans, Randle will probably be the only Supercars driver doing a full race weekend at Sandown just three weeks before the iconic enduro.
He will be rolling out his 2013 SAAB 9-3 once again that dominated last start at The Bend, winning all three races.
Randle is keen to see how the SAAB performs over the more bumpy Sandown layout having flown on a smoother South Australian venue.
“They (Sports Sedans) were tossing up between Sandown and Phillip Island and either would have been great for the category, but the fact the next Supercars round is at Sandown only three weekends later, it works out so well for me,” he told AUTO ACTION.
“Just to get a few more extra laps will be great preparation for the 500.
“Sandown is a very different track to the Bend being far from smooth with lots of bumps, kerbs and surface changes.
“It will just be nice to give the old girl a run again. It is great to have Snowy River Caravans and Castrol on board.
“We are not fighting for the championship so it is just about going out there, giving it a run, getting some laps and get back into the saddle.”
The last time Randle drove his SAAB at Sandown was in a Victorian State Race Series round in February 2023 where he took pole by 4s and won all three races.
However, the fight for first should be much more competitive after Randle had some brilliant battles at The Bend with the likes of Peter Ingram, Steve Tamasi, Steven Lacey and Geoff Taunton.
Racing wheel to wheel with them again is what the Tickford driver is craving the most.
“That is what I am looking forward to the most,” Randle said.
“Those boys have fast cars, are highly skilled and are driving well so I am sure we will be going to combat.
“It will be an exciting weekend and hopefully we can have some great racing like we did at The Bend which was a great show for the category.”
Randle also revealed his team have made some small tweaks to the SAAB in the debrief of the trip to The Bend.
“The boys have done a few bits and pieces to the car to make it go a bit quicker,” he said.
“There were a few things we thought we should have done a little bit better with the car.
“Our car is not the fastest down the straights, but it will be good to tune the car for the corners.
“We don’t get a lot of time on track unlike Supercars with full time engineers so there were a few things we found from the Bend that we will take here.”
In addition to being a star on the track, Randle has also been part of a special initiative off it this weekend.
Some lucky fans who purchased tickets to attend the Victorian State Race Series meeting before 16.00 this Saturday will win a one-hour Dream Simulation session with Randle himself.
Sports Sedans hit the track on Friday before three races are spread across the weekend.
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