Supercars semi-finalist Thomas Randle will enter the penultimate round of the 2025 Supercars Championship at Sandown with a special tribute to Australian motorsport legend Larry Perkins.
Randle, who is one of just seven drivers remaining in the hunt for the 2025 title under Supercars’ new finals system, will compete at Melbourne’s historic Sandown Raceway this weekend adorning Castrol’s classic ‘saw tooth’ look that Perkins made famous in 1990s touring car competition.
And to properly immerse himself in Perkins’ heritage, Randle jumped at the chance to visit Larry on his farm in Cowangie, Victoria. Situated in the Mallee region, the Perkins family has owned and operated the farm for 105 years.
On the race track, Perkins enjoyed a career-defining partnership with Castrol. The oil brand supported his one, two and sometimes three-car Supercars team between 1993 and 2005.
During that period, Perkins’ Holden team boasted the best drivers in the country – all Bathurst 1000 winners. His driver roster included the late Gregg Hansford, Russell Ingall, Steven Richards, Paul Dumbrell, Tony Longhurst and, of course, Larry himself.
The most successful period for Perkins and Castrol came in the 1990s where the ‘saw tooth’ Castrol scheme was the winner of three Bathurst 1000s (1993, 1995 and 1997), a Sandown 500 (1998) and a Queensland 500 (1999).
“I’ve got some good memories from Bathurst with our Castrol cars,” said Perkins.
“I always thought that they were good looking cars, if that means anything, but they certainly looked exceptional when it was first across the line!
“Thomas’ car looks very much like my 1995 Bathurst winner and I think the designer has done a very good job. I hope he can have the same success at Sandown this weekend.
“It was nice to host Thomas at our family farm in Cowangie ahead of Sandown. We’ve been here for 105 years. My grandad first took on the land when he came back from World War 1, and my dad was born on the farm.
“I grew up here, I went to school down the road and now I’m back living here. I have a lot of memories and I still really enjoy it.”
Randle, Castrol and the Tickford Racing Ford Mustang team will bring the iconic livery back to the track at Sandown, and they have not just settled with the tribute livery, either. Randle will wear a retro-styled Castrol race suit and a helmet scheme that matches the unique green and gold colours worn by Perkins during his illustrious racing career.
“We’re running the iconic Castrol saw tooth livery on our Ford Mustang for the Sandown 500, and I feel really honoured,” said Randle.
“It’s such an iconic livery from the 1990s with Larry Perkins behind the wheel. Larry is a legend of our sport and the wins he had at Bathurst were all special – the most famous being the last-to-first in 1995.
“Larry had three Bathurst victories in that livery and a Sandown 500 win as well, so it’s probably the perfect time to be running the paint scheme on our Mustang.
“Castrol don’t do things in halves and the fact we’re not just running the livery at Sandown, but we’ve got the race suit to go with it and also the same helmet design that Larry ran during that time.
“I’ve got to thank Castrol, the Perkins family and Tickford Racing for putting this together, especially with the high stakes of being in the semi-final.
“For me, it’s a big round at Sandown, being in contention and in the semi-final. It’s going to be all about maximum aggression. We’ve got nothing to lose with two races at 250km each and we’ll be on maximum attack. We’ve definitely displayed some good speed at Sandown in the past and we want to make it into the top four to compete for the title in Adelaide. That’s the ultimate goal.
“Carrying those iconic colours … hopefully it gives us an extra boost and I want to make Larry and our team proud.
“And it was really cool to visit the Perkins family farm. We’ve heard plenty about Larry’s farm over the years, so to get the chance to see it and hear some of his stories was great.
“The amount of farming land is incredible. There’s tonnes of machines and plenty of farming going on. It’s a world away from the hustle of the city, so it was nice to get a first hand look at what it’s all about.”
This weekend’s Sandown 500 – featuring two 250km races each on Saturday and Sunday – is also the perfect venue for Castrol’s retro celebrations.
Not only did Perkins win the 500km race on two occasions (1992 and 1998 – both with Castrol backing), but Castrol was also the naming-rights sponsor of the race (then the traditional Bathurst 1000 prelude event) between 1982 and 1987.
Both Tickford Racing’s Mustangs of Randle and Cameron Waters are part of Sandown’s semi-final, with Randle sitting seventh and Waters fourth in the title race.
If any of the seven semi-finalists win a race at Sandown, they will instantly score a place in the bp Adelaide Grand Final in two weeks time.
If none of the finalists win a Sandown race, the top four in points will head to Adelaide as the only drivers with a chance to win the 2025 Supercars Championship.
The penultimate round of the Supercars Championship at Sandown kicks off tomorrow (Friday) with two 30 minute practice sessions ahead of a huge weekend of action. All 24 Supercars will be on track for qualifying, a Top 10 Shootout and a 250km on both Saturday and Sunday.