Randle leads all-Ford top five at The Bend

FORD has made a promising start to the OTR SuperSprint, with Thomas Randle leading a top five Blue Oval lockout in Practice 1 at The Bend.

With the Friday rain not returning and conditions clear, it was a relatively uneventful opening half-hour as teams got stuck into set-up work.

One to report early trouble was Shane van Gisbergen, with more steering headaches presenting.

The NASCAR-bound star turned just four laps before getting out of the car, leaving him anchored to the bottom of the timesheets.

Van Gisbergen’s issues come despite him still being in the wildcard chassis which he switched to with success in Sydney.

While the three-time champion’s car remained sat in the garage, others pressed on and it was Tickford Racing who led the way.

Cam Waters was the initial pacesetter on a 1:51.2249s, before teammate Randle (1:50.8386s) went to the top with 12 minutes remaining.

Matt Payne became Randle’s nearest threat as the final minute before the chequered flag began, moving to within a tenth at 1:50.9181s.

Randle’s effort ultimately stood the test of time, with Will Davison, Waters and Anton De Pasquale rounding out the five.

Broc Feeney was the fastest Camaro in sixth, ahead of James Courtney, Andre Heimgartner, Brodie Kostecki and David Reynolds.

Practice 2 kicks off at 11:40am local time (12:10pm AEST).

Results: Practice 1, 2023 OTR SuperSprint