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HomeNewsTICKFORD WILDCARD CAR’S LINK TO A LEGEND

TICKFORD WILDCARD CAR’S LINK TO A LEGEND

The Ford Mustang that Thomas Randle will campaign as a wildcard this season has carried several colours in its time, including that of the legendary Allan Moffat.

Tickford Racing will field 25-year-old Randle in the now Castrol-backed car at the Tailem Bend, Hidden Valley and Wanneroo rounds of the Repco Supercars Championship.

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The car in question is PRA 1621, which was built as a Falcon FG X ahead of the 2017 season and raced by Mark Winterbottom throughout that year with Bottle-O backing.

That included wearing the iconic Moffat Ford Dealers colours at the Bathurst 1000 to mark 40 years since the famous one-two Falcon finish.

Moffat himself was part of the car’s launch, commenting; “I haven’t seen a car that has got so many graphics on it and still look great!”.

Moffat and Winterbottom at the launch of the 2017 Bathurst campaign. Pic: Supplied

Unfortunately, there was no repeat of Moffat’s heroics from Winterbottom and co-driver Dean Canto in the 2017 race as Winterbottom crashed out in the closing stages.

Winterbottom again campaigned the car through the first half of 2018 before he swapped chassis with Richie Stanaway and PRA 1621 adopted a Rabble.club livery.

It was then converted to a Mustang GT ahead of 2019 and returned to Bottle-O colours for new recruit Lee Holdsworth, who was joined by Randle for that year’s Enduro Cup.

Their standout campaign included a third-place finish in the Sandown 500; the first podium of Randle’s career and Holdsworth’s first since Winton in 2014.

The Bottle-O Mustang scored a podium in the Sandown 500. Pic: an1images.com / Dirk Klynsmith

It remained Holdsworth’s car in 2020, where it sported Truck Assist backing, and recorded two more podium finishers at Sydney Motorsport Park.

The car’s most recent race was the Bathurst 1000, where Holdsworth scored provisional pole position in what turned out to be his final full-time Supercars start… for now at least.

PRA 1621 was rolled out again in Truck Assist colours for Jack Le Brocq at a ride day in February while his new car was being completed, before taking on spare car duties.

Randle recently tested the car in its new Castrol colours at Winton and heads to familiar territory at The Bend, having driven a Tickford wildcard at the venue in 2019.

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