The Dunlop Super2 series has had an entertaining grand return to racing at Sydney Motorsport Park over the weekend, with the spoils shared during the series’ second round.
Despite two different victors, it was MW Motorsport’s Thomas Randle who came out of the weekend as the biggest winner, with the Victorian securing a victory and a runner-up finish over the category’s two races.
Having started on pole in both races, the Skye Sands Nissan driver was comfortably leading the opening race before a safety car bunched up the field, allowing Will Brown to pounce on him and snatch the lead before eventually taking out the win.
Randle didn’t make the same mistake in Sunday’s race with the 24-year-old leading from start to finish to extend the outright series lead over Brown, who finished fourth in the second race.
“I have to thank the team for this – the Skye Sands Nissan was very quick this weekend,” Randle said post-Sunday’s win.
“Apart from not winning yesterday (Saturday), I really had a dream run, and it will be nice for the boys to go home with a result like this.
“They have basically been away from their homes for two weeks, so to give them this, after a five month break, is fantastic.”
In Saturday’s race, Brown was thrilled he was able to capitalise on Randle’s slow restart after the safety car period ended, claiming the lead with just seven laps remaining and holding him off by six tenths.
It was just Brown’s second career win the in the series, with the Queenslander excited to give his new team a win.
“It’s awesome to get the first win with the transition over to Image Racing, and with everyone at Erebus, it was nice to repay them with a win," he said.
"With the teams having to relocate to New South Wales everyone has put in so much effort, so it’s great to reward them with a win and that was pretty exciting.
"When the Safety Car came out, I thought it was our chance and so I took the opportunity.”
The other notable result of the weekend saw Randle’s teammate and leading rookie Jayden Ojeda secure two podium finishes with third in the first race and a runner-up finish ahead of Brodie Kostecki in the second race.
Randle now holds a 38 point lead over Brown at the top of the standings, while Kostecki is a further 35 points adrift. Ojeda’s weekend saw him close the gap for outright third place, with only 22 points separating he and Kostecki.
In Super3, there was more success for MW Motorsport as Jay Robotham dominated the class to grab both poles and victories over the course of the weekend.
The teenager also managed to hold his own in the combined Super2/3 field, securing two outright top 10s in the process.
“It was a bit surprising to come in with the speed that we had, but to end up with two poles and two wins was awesome,” Robotham said.
“The main focus is to beat the Super3 guys, but when you find yourself racing the Super2 guys, you learn a bit. They have more experience and their cars are a bit faster in certain areas.”
The combined series’ next round will be as part of the Virgin Australia Supercars Championship’s Penrite Oil Sandown at Sandown Raceway on 19-20 September.