MOTORSPORT: Aussie Randle champ in NZ thriller

An Australian has won New Zealand’s summer open-wheeler Toyota series for the first time in its 13 years, with Thomas Randle nudging out a son of a triple Formula 1 world champion and a Dutch teenager earmarked for big things by Red Bull.

Randle, 20, of Melbourne, had gone into Sunday’s New Zealand Grand Prix trailing Pedro Piquet, 18-year-old son of Brazil’s 1981, ’83 and ’87 world champion and brother of ex-F1 racer Nelson junior, by one point in a series in which a win was worth 75 points.

A slick pass on Piquet in the 35-lap GP at the Chris Amon Circuit at Manfeild, near Palmerston North, after a brilliant recovery drive in the shorter morning race clinched the title for Randle.

It was the closest-fought battle in the history of the series, in which 20 youngsters from around the world – mostly with F1 aspirations – compete early each year.

Randle finished the series with 855 points to Piquet’s 850 and the 843 of Dutch 16-year-old Richard Verschoor, a member of Red Bull’s junior squad through which Australia’s F1 star Daniel Ricciardo emerged.

Britain’s Lando Norris, who won the Toyota title last year, is now a McLaren junior driver, while Canadian Lance Stroll, the 2015 champion, will make his F1 debut in Melbourne at next month’s Australian GP with the Williams team. Russian Daniil Kyvat is another graduate of the series to make it to F1.

Randle already has had a year in Britain and is booked for a season of LMP3 sports cars there with Douglas Motorsport, but other open-wheeler opportunities could open up for him now.

He won two of the 15 races in this summer’s series, although he was stripped of another victory for jumping a start, while Piquet, Verschoor and Kiwi Marcus Armstrong, a member of Ferrari’s junior academy, each won three.

Armstrong finished fourth in the series with 792 points, while Indian Jehan Daruvala, winner of the NZ GP, wound up fifth with 781.

Armstrong finished second in NZ’s 62nd GP to add his name to a trophy won by legends including Australia’s triple world champion Sir Jack Brabham, British greats Stirling Moss, John Surtees, Graham Hill and Sir Jackie Stewart, and Kiwi legends Bruce McLaren, Amon and Kenny Smith.

Randle was third in the GP, behind Armstrong but crucially ahead of Piquet.

Randle said that claiming the title after the torrid five-week, five-round battle was “an amazing relief”.
In Sunday morning’s 15-lap race – won by Verschoor, from Armstrong and Piquet – Randle was bumped off the track at the start and dropped to at least 12th, although some reports said 15th.

He fought back and – with a brilliant overtake of Austrian Ferdinand Habsburg at the last corner –snared fourth place and its valuable 54 championship points.

“I went nuts after that [incident at the start],” Randle said.

“That pass saved me the title. It’s what got me in contention again.

“I knew I could get on the power early at the hairpin and the car had a lot of grip.

“It ended up working.

“I thought it was all over by turn one, then I stormed from 15th or somewhere back to fourth.

“Don't know how I did that – could probably never do it again."

The GP was red-flagged after Brazilian Christian Hahn barrel-rolled on the front straight on the first lap, without injury. Another of the three Australians in the field, Melbourne 16-year-old Luis Leeds, also was involved in that incident.

Randle lost a place to Armstrong early, while Piquet was second until overtaken by the Kiwi.

As the Brazilian attacked Armstrong, Randle slipped past Piquet into a title-winning position.

“I just decided to do the smartest thing and stay behind Marcus in his tow,” Randle said.

Piquet attacked Randle late in the race for third place and the title but his tyres had gone off and he drifted back.

Verschoor finished fifth in the GP after having headed the series until Randle took the lead at Taupo in round four.

Randle raced for the Victory team, Piquet and Armstrong for M2 Competition, and Verschoor for the Giles Motorsport of former senior McLaren mechanic Steve Giles.

Australians Leeds and Harry Hayek, of Sydney, also drove for Giles but finished only 13th and 15th in the championship with 419 and 363 points respectively.