Arriving at Hidden Valley this morning felt like it was delivering the full Darwin experience, hot and clear skies.

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The team were in good spirits heading into day two after the drought breaking win from Waters yesterday.

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The day brought a huge amount of pressure for both Main Game and Dunlop Series with critical qualifying and race sessions across the board.

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Qualifying for the Autosport Program also went to plan very well with all four drivers punching early laps that had them secure up the top end of the timing charts.

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The times were incredibly close with all four drivers missing the top step by less than a tenth.

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DVS QUALIFYING RACE 1 RESULTS  

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#5 Reuben Goodall:  4th  

#6 Ben Gomersall: 5th

#55 Nash Morris: 3rd  

#56 Cambell Loan: 2nd  

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Following the Super2 was the Main Game qualifying, and the team were very confident the work done overnight and, in the morning, that it had both cars in a good window.

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Randle rolled out with the field to begin the session, to test how the new changes were reacting after yesterday’s setup was just slightly off the mark.  

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The crew spun Waters around in the lane and rested him for the second run, confident in the car and driver ability to put one strong run in toward the end of the first part of qualifying.

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Randle was hanging around 15th early on the first run of the session, above the cut line but with improvements to be made for the next run.

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With both cars rolling out for their second runs, Waters and Randle did exactly what was needed to get through to the second part finishing 2nd and 15th respectively.

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As the pit lane opened for the second phase of qualifying, once again the boys did an incredible job to punch solid times and progress through to the top ten shootout. A big shoutout to the mechanics and engineers for continuing to improve this weekend with the cars and turn around the form from the last couple of rounds.

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QUALIFYING RACE 18 RESULTS  

#6 Cam Waters: 2nd

#55 Thomas Randle: 4th

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Shootout was split tyres for both our drivers, with Randle running full used and Waters operating on green tyres.

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Randle was able to top the times for those who ran a used tyre set up, so there was confidence within himself and the car that it had the pace to compete during the harsh conditions in the afternoons race.

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TOP TEN SHOOTOUT RESULTS  

#6 Cam Waters: 1st

#55 Thomas Randle: 8th

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As we rolled into the first race of the day, our Super2 drivers were ready to battle the incredibly difficult conditions in their timed race.

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Off the line, Logan had the perfect jump, edging out Dalton to cruise into P1 and lead the first lap comfortably.

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Behind him, we unfortunately had a little bit of friendly fire with Goodall and Nash coming together, with Goodall being sent off the road at the hairpin.

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As cars rejoined and settled into a bit of race pace, Gomersall found himself in a few strong battles, but with a cool head managed to score some good overtakes throughout the mid part of the race.

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For the opening lap incident, Morris picked up a 15 second penalty which hurt his chances of a podium finish once the end of the race neared.  

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Logan continued to manage his gap to the field to perfection, it was done without mistake and all on his terms lap after lap.

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Goodall had a lockup in his attempt to get back up the field which ended in contact with another car and getting checked out of his rhythm which sent him back to last.

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It was a fantastic effort by all but to have a new race winner in the Autosport program is incredibly exciting for Logan, his team and his supporters. It was a true class of a drive that warranted the top step.

The heat of the day was well and truly felt as the cars pulled out of pit lane for Race 18 of the Supercars Championship.

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Starting in pole for the first time of the year was fantastic timing when you get open air ahead on pit straight at Hidden Valley. For Randle, he was around talented drivers but knew how to jump well and cruise into an early rythym.

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Waters held the lead early, extending his lead gradually on the chasing Kostecki lurking behind during the first phase of the race.

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Midway through the race it was made aware to the team that Randle had lost his cool suit due to failure. What was going to be a gruelling remainder of the day was on the front of everyone’s mind in the garage.

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With two compulsory pit stops with fuel, the team did a great job under the Darwin heat to have them as fast as possible and give the drivers the best opportunity of winning.

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For Waters, a mid race battle with Allen saw a little wobble that meant he got overtaken and Waters settled back into second with one pit stop to go.

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Randle was being masterfully coached through lap after lap by Stuckey his engineer, doing all he could from the engineering desk willing Randle on in the conditions he was fighting.

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We often forget just how much of an athlete these drivers are and the things they are exposed to, especially the heat here in Darwin. To sit in that car for over an hour with no cooling abilities, is a testament to the commitment and training that Randle has done to prepare for this round.

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As we neared the end of the race, Waters played the defence game perfectly on Kostecki to secure another podium and some more trophies for the team on a trying day.

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Randle is in good spirits after being cleared by the medical team who helped him regain some fluids in his system and we are expecting him to make a full recovery and be back out on track competing tomorrow.

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RACE 18 RESULTS  

#6 Cam Waters: 2nd

#55 Thomas Randle: 12th

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A big day ahead as we look to close out the Triple Crown with more strong results.

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We are on track with qualifying for Race 2 of the Dunlop Series followed by Supercars Qualifying

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