EXPECT Thomas Randle to come out firing in year two of his full-time Repco Supercars Championship career.
That’s the message from Tickford Racing CEO Tim Edwards, who hailed Randle’s mental fortitude throughout a challenging rookie campaign.
Randle ended up 23rd in the points with six DNFs and one DNS, and little to show for the genuine pace he showed at an increasing frequency.
As Tickford unveils the updated look for the #55 Castrol entry ahead of its first run in Gen3 form today at Winton, Edwards is tipping a big season for the 2020 Super2 Series winner.
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“My expectation of Thomas is to be in the top 10 in the championship this year and that’s his own expectation as well,” Edwards told V8 Sleuth, before homing in on resilience as a key trait.
“I think the fact is, towards the back end of the year in particular he was demonstrating really strong form in qualifying and just a few things didn’t go his way in the race – and all bar one occasion they weren’t his doing,” he continued.
“That shows the strength of somebody, when they can turn around the next day or the next week or three weeks later and come out fighting just as hard as they were the round before because it is tough when you get beaten like that.
“And it’s hard when you’re benchmarked against arguably one of the best drivers in the category in Cam (Waters), his teammate.
“Cam had to deal with it himself in 2016 when he made the jump. I think he finished 19th in his first season and he had Chaz (Mostert) and Frosty (Mark Winterbottom) as his teammates; same thing, it’s a pretty good yardstick that you’re benchmarked against.
“Thomas just stuck at it and not once did I see him drop his bottom lip.
“Everyone gets pissed off and frustrated but he just kept fighting and kept digging so the way he was trending towards the back end of the year and touch wood he stays out of other people’s calamities, I think he is going to be in for a ripping year.”
Randle himself described 2022 as a “rollercoaster” but is eyes forward on the new era.
“I have been working very hard over the off-season and the team has been putting in maximum effort in preparing the new cars and working on how we can get on top of them, I feel I’m as prepared as I can be,” the 26-year-old said.
“With these new regulations, it will be interesting to see each team’s approach.
“Newcastle will undoubtedly be a great event to have back and it will be a learning curve for everyone, making it a great opportunity for it to be anyone’s game.”
Declan Fraser is the new rookie in the Tickford ranks, joining Randle in the team’s second garage, while Waters still has 2010 champion James Courtney for company.
Waters’ #6 Mustang made a successful debut last week, while Courtney and Fraser will complete shakedowns this Wednesday.
Joining Randle on-track today will be the #99 Coca-Cola Camaro of Erebus Motorsport’s Brodie Kostecki.
