Castrol’s increased involvement with Tickford comes as the pair celebrate their 20th season of partnership which began with Tickford’s inaugural season as Ford Performance Racing (FPR) in 2003. Randle, 25, raced the No. 55 Castrol Racing Ford Mustang as a wild card on three occasions in 2021, and is thrilled to have the support of the iconic global brand for his first full season tilt in the Supercars Championship.
“I’m not kidding when I say I’ve been racing on Castrol oil since I was in karts, so to have Castrol’s support on the No. 55 Tickford Mustang as a rookie full-time Supercars driver is just incredible. Obviously having Castrol’s backing of our wild card entry this year with Tickford Racing has been fantastic, and we’re thrilled to be able to take this partnership to the next level in 2022 and beyond. It’s surreal to see my name on the window of the green machine, and to join the list of Castrol Racing drivers is an amazing honour. Castrol been an instrumental part in so many historic moments in Australian motorsport, and we definitely want to create our own in the years to come.”
Randle becomes the newest name on an impressive list of drivers who have driven under the Castrol Racing banner in the Australian Touring Car/Supercars Championship including Larry Perkins, Russell Ingall, Greg Murphy, Steven Richards, Mark Winterbottom, and Rick Kelly among others.
“We are delighted that the Castrol Racing Mustang will be back on the grid full-time in 2022 – and it’s a fitting celebration of our two-decade partnership with Tickford. We are also incredibly excited to support Thomas Randle in this next step of his career,” said Jotika Prasad, Castrol Marketing Director, ANZ. “Thomas has already proven himself a fierce competitor on-track, and exceptional individual off-track, and we’re confident that Castrol can play a key role in accelerating his potential. Both Thomas and the team at Tickford have been tremendous ambassadors of Castrol over the years and have represented our brand and products incredibly well at the pinnacle of Australian motorsport. The Castrol Racing name has been associated with some of Supercars’ most successful drivers, and we are very much looking forward to adding to those achievements with Thomas and Tickford in 2022.”
Joining Castrol on the No. 55 Castrol Racing Mustang is global energy leader bp, who also serve as the Official Fuel Supplier of Supercars. “We’re thrilled to be able to partner with both Tickford and Thomas to further strengthen our connection with Australian motorsport.”, said Diana Hall, bp VP Marketing, ASPAC. “Exceptional performance and clean racing are two things we know Thomas takes very seriously, which is a perfect fit with bp Ultimate on the car!”
The Castrol Racing Ford Mustang will also enjoy support from Herzog Steel, Ryco, Infinium Advisory, ACT Fence Hire, and more to come. Tickford Racing CEO and Team Principal Tim Edwards has praised the team’s expanded partnership, which comes as the Melbourne-based outfit re-expands to a four-car stable for the 2022 Supercars season, where Randle will team up with incumbents Cam Waters and James Courtney, as well as newcomer Jake Kostecki.
“We have been incredibly fortunate to have had the support of Castrol both on and off the racetrack since we opened our doors nearly 20 years ago,” Edwards said. “Castrol is one of our ‘day one’ partners and we’ve enjoyed quite a bit of success together since our inception; every win, pole, and podium we have ever achieved has been with Castrol oil, which is something we’re very proud of. Our relationship has taken on many guises over the years, but we are thrilled to grow our partnership to a naming rights arrangement for 2022, especially in support of a young and rising star in Thomas. We have lofty goals for the future as we always do, and with Castrol’s continued support we look forward to going after those goals with Thomas and celebrating more success together.”
Thomas Randle will make his full-time Supercars debut aboard the No. 55 Castrol Racing Ford Mustang at the Newcastle 500, which opens the 2022 Supercars season on the March 4-6 weekend. Prior to that, Randle will race as co-driver alongside James Courtney in the No. 44 Boost Mobile Ford Mustang in this weekend’s Bathurst 1000, which serves as the season finale of the 2021 Supercars Championship.