Supercars drivers, teams embrace April Fool's

Mid-season career changes drivers, and an ex-Formula 1 team boss joining a Supercars team? It must be April 1!

Supercars teams have joined in on the April Fool’s Day fun, hoping to catch fans off guard.

Thomas Randle, Tickford Racing and co-naming rights partner Castrol had the Ford star quitting Supercars to join the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra.

It comes after Randle starred in a pre-Grand Prix video, with the 2020 Super2 champion playing the F1 theme on the piano.

“I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about this, but I've decided to park my racing career, hang up the helmet after 20 years, and I'm going down the avenue of becoming a professional classical pianist,” Randle said in a release.

“It's been a very big decision to make. It’s a big career change to go from being a professional driver in Supercars to putting that aside and focus now on my professional piano career.

“After the Grand Prix with the video that we did with the F1 intro, the messages I've received from different musicians, artists, orchestras … my inbox has just been flooded. I really think this is the best opportunity for me to take the next step in my career.”

The release also featured quotes from Tickford co-owner Rod Nash, who said: “It's pretty disappointing because to have a driver leave your team, you know, early in the season like this and there's sponsors and team and everything, we’ve got to work through it.

“It's a bit of a kick in the guts. We’ve invested a lot of our time and energy into Thomas’ career, and we tried to change his mind, but he's pretty adamant that he's doing it.”

Team 18 also announced that Mark Winterbottom, who recently scored a podium at Albert Park, has joined East Coast Car Rentals as a shuttle bus driver.

“I’m excited to be joining East Coast Car Rentals and taking on this new challenge,” Winterbottom said.

“Driving is my passion, whether it’s on the track or off, and I look forward to bringing that same passion to my role as a shuttle bus driver.

“With Cam Waters off racing on the dirt and Chaz and Dave Reynolds racing GT cars, It’s a great opportunity for me to stay sharp and focused while also setting a record pace for customers getting into their rental cars.”

PremiAir Nulon Racing, meanwhile, teased that former Haas F1 team boss Guenther Steiner had joined the Peter Xiberras-owned team.

Steiner recently got a taste of a Gen3 Supercar, courtesy of James Courtney at the Adelaide Motorsport Festival. Xiberras was also at the festival, steering a number of cars, and the team joked a deal was done there.

"Let's extend a warm welcome to Guenther Steiner, the newest member of our team," PremiAir Nulon Racing posted.

"After his recent visit to the Adelaide Motorsport Festival and a serendipitous meeting with Peter, he couldn't pass up the opportunity to join us down under."

The 2024 Repco Supercars Championship will resume at the ITM Taupō Super400 on April 19-21.