Sam shines in dark in BTCC Toyota race
SAM Randon had his first experience of a British Touring Car Championship machine – and drove it from the back of the grid to third place in an evening race at Brands Hatch.
The 23-year-old racing driver from Ashbourne was invited to take the wheel of a BTCC Toyota Avensis for his new backers, Team Hard, in the last round of the Britcar Endurance Championship.
In the two-hour endurance races, he was partnered by Michael Crease and their brief was to try to take points off the rivals of Team Hard’s sister car, driven by championship-chasing Simon Rudd and Tim Barley.
That they did – on the second day. Gearbox problems foiled their efforts on the first day, forcing Crease from the track before Randon had even had chance to take his turn behind the wheel.
The second race saw them start from the back of the grid owing to failing to finish the first race, then a problem on the warm-up lap saw them asked to start from the pit lane.
Unbowed by the disadvantage, they whizzed past the field of 22 cars and, remarkably, were leading the race by halfway.
That was when they hit another obstacle. The Avensis, not usually used for endurance racing, is not built for rapid refuelling like some of the cars taking part, so they slipped back again when they had to fill up.
The problems did not end there. With 10 minutes to go, the front splitter started to come loose and bounce on the track. Crease was forced to pull into the pits again.
However, he came through the last few laps to grab third overall and second in class.
“It was an amazing result from dead last and I couldn’t be happier,” said Randon. “What a great team effort and an amazing car. I want to dedicate this podium places to my two grandpas who both passed away last week.
“I am very grateful to Tony (team boss Tony Gilham) for giving me this opportunity. I’ve always dreamt of driving a BTCC machine so to get the chance to actually race it was very exciting.”
Gilham, a BTCC driver himself, had no qualms about giving Randon a drive in the Avensis.
“Sam has driven faultlessly in everything we have put him in so far this season so we were keen to see what he can do in a Touring Car,” he said.
“It was back to front wheel drive so he can draw on his extensive Clio experience.”
The season done, Randon and Gilham will now talk about their options for next season – but Randon feels he has taken a big step closer to his target of a full BTCC slot in the future.