'Gutted' Randle takes blame for costly Feeney clash

A despondent Thomas Randle has accepted responsibility for a late race collision with Broc Feeney that has provided the latest twist in the title race.

It was a character building day for Randle, who claimed his second career pole and beat teammate Cam Waters off the front row to take the lead.

However, his day would begin to unravel at the Turn 4 hairpin, where he entered too hot on cold tyres and allowed Waters into a lead he never relinquished.

“Cold tyres on the front, just over anticipated the grip,” said Randle of his first lap mistake.

“I was lucky to only lose out to Cam, but from then we were actually having a pretty good race.”

Randle was hurt by a double stack when the first safety car period of the day came out for David Reynolds’ spun TRADIE Beer Camaro.

Randle would drop to third behind Will Brown, and would soon engage in a feisty battle for second place.

Randle would get into the side of Brown at the hairpin on lap 45 and appeared to have the move done before Brown returned the favour at Turn 6, and escorted Randle wide at Turn 7.

“Yeah we were racing pretty hard at the hairpin, Will likes to bump and run so I just did what he likes to do at the hairpin," Randle said.

“He was pushing me hard onto the grass at the exit, it felt like he hit me at Turn 6 after I was past, and then he obviously regained the position."

Brown’s teammate Feeney would capitalise and move into third, and soon set about trying to pass his teammate, who was struggling with a flat spotted tyre.

It all came to a head on lap 51, when Randle pinched an inside front at the hairpin and speared into Feeney, spinning the Red Bull Camaro back into 16th.

Randle would be slapped with a 15-second penalty for the contact and was demoted to 18th in the final results, having crossed the line in seventh on the road.

“But what happened with Feeney, that was totally my fault, but I probably should’ve got the move done properly on Will and the whole thing could’ve been avoided," Randle added.

“I’m just gutted with my mistake into Turn 4 with five to go, that was all my fault, I’ve got no one else to blame but myself, and I’ll be kicking myself over that one for a while.

“Just a real shame because it was a really good chance to capitalise on some good points.

“Obviously I’m happy for Cam to get the win, we clearly had the speed, just doesn’t feel real that that’s just happened.”

Randle tried to find Feeney post-race, but there was a tense moment at the Triple Eight garage as Team Manager Mark Dutton tried to turn Randle away, with Team Principal Jamie Whincup playing mediator.

“I just wanted to go apologise to Broc, but I think he’d gone to the truck, so I think they’re going to go and grab him and I’ll go apologise, that’s all I can really do," Randle said.

“Dutto’s got some invisible line there, Jamie was fine, so he’s all good, all you can do is apologise and move on.”

Whilst Randle maintains eighth in the championship, the clash had disastrous consequences for Feeney, who lost 78 points to points leader Brown, and now sits 198 points off the lead.