Tickford suspects tyre batch behind Waters' Sandown slump

Tickford's Chaz Mostert rival Tim Waters struggled for pace at Sandown after his team had expected a strong Sunday semi-final. Waters was knocked out in the second part of qualifying and started 18th, then made little progress in the race, costing him a place in the Adelaide Grand Final.

Tickford team manager Matt Roberts said the team had been confident because the soft compound tyre suited the car. Teammate Thomas Randle qualified and raced comfortably inside the top 10, which left the team looking at the tyres. Roberts said the team was focusing on a possible tyre batch problem, while acknowledging how unusual that would be for slicks.

Waters' pace improved in the final stint, but Roberts said it came too late to change the outcome. He also noted that the first two stints may have been hampered by the suspected batch issue, though he added that this remained speculation for now.