Randle uncertain about cause of bizarre pre-race fire
Supercars
1d
Unusual pre-race fire for Thomas Randle being investigated by Tickford Racing
Windscreen of #55 Mustang caught fire whilst rolling to the grid from the paddock
Race 7 abandoned due to heavy rain at MSS Security Melbourne SuperSprint
Whilst Race 7 of the 2025 Repco Supercars Championship was abandoned after just two Safety Car laps due to heavy rain at Albert Park, it was fire that nearly brought Thomas Randle's day undone before it began.
With rain hammering down at Albert Park as cars formed up on the grid after the reconnaissance lap, TV cameras captured Randle stopped just prior to the grid, with Tickford crew surrounding the car with two fire extinguishers.
After a quick investigation under the bonnet of the #55 Castrol Mustang, Randle resumed his position in 12th on the grid, however it all proved a moot point as the race was abandoned without a single green flag lap completed.
Randle's Mustang sported a small burnt patch in the bottom left corner of the front windscreen, having caught fire initially at Turn 13 off camera, before catching fire again behind the grid as the in-car camera was rolling.
The fire appeared to be electrical, with the 29-year-old suspecting that it might've been related to the windscreen heater, however there has been no official word on the cause of the fire.
"I was on the way to the grid, and at the second-to-last corner I just saw smoke coming across the dashboard from the left side to the right," said Randle.
"I just thought, 'That's a bit odd,' and that maybe it's some oil on the exhaust wrapping or something, just trying to not think too much about it, and then I see flame coming out of the bottom left hand side of the windscreen.
"I called fire, and just thought back to the few times Fords have been on fire in the past sadly, and it's always been from the left front."
"So I pulled up to the back of the grid, jumped out, and then the flame actually went out, and I thought, 'That's a bit odd, I swear this thing was on fire.'
"Then I started it up again, and it caught fire again, and it looks like it's the heated screen connector that's sparked on something, I'm just guessing.
"We haven't had to use the heated screen yet with these new dashboards, but I don't know. The power distribution module is meant to pick up on the spike and kill it, which it clearly hasn't.
"So they'll have to dig into the data and see why it allowed there to be current for that long to actually lead to one fire, and then catch fire again.
"Thankfully, it put itself out and we went around a few times under very wet conditions."
