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Two 60-minute practice sessions have been the name of the game for the opening day of the 2024 Bathurst 1000 today, with PremiAir Nulon Racing happy with the progress – highlighted by P6 in practice one and P5 in practice two – made across the day ahead of further practice and qualifying tomorrow.
The on-track Supercars running opened with a 60-minute practice for all drivers, followed later in the afternoon by practice two, which was restricted to co-drivers only.
In practice one, Jimmy Golding and Tim Slade took control of the #31 and #23 PremiAir Nulon Racing Camaros respectively for the entirety of the outing, working through a busy set-up and data program and setting the 6th and 23rd quickest laps of the session in the process.
In practice two, it was a case of hurry up and wait with the start time delayed not once, but twice – first for the clean-up of a large oil spill from the previous session, and then secondly for the retrieval of a venomous snake from near a marshal point on the racing surface.
The session eventually got underway at 5.25pm, some 30 minutes behind schedule, with permission gained by Supercars to extend what was a time certain finish of 5.55pm to 6.10pm. The outing was then red-flagged with ten minutes left on the clock for a stranded fellow competitor, bringing a premature end to the session.
Despite the slightly shorter running time, PremiAir Nulon Racing co-drivers David Russell (#31) and Cameron McLeod (#23) were still sure to wring the absolute maximum possible from their time on the track in their first laps around The Mountain for this event, working diligently through their planned preparations while logging the 5th and 26th fastest times respectively.
While there was plenty of focus on the main game running today, PremiAir Nulon Racing team boss Peter Xiberras was also drawing his fair share of attention as he made his Mount Panorama debut in the V8 Sleuth Retro Revival, completing practice (P38), qualifying (P33) and the first of four races for the weekend (P26).
PremiAir Nulon Racing will return to the track tomorrow (Friday 11 October) for two further all-drivers practice sessions of 60 minutes each at 10.05am and 1.05pm respectively, ahead of a 40 minute qualifying session at 4.15pm. Xiberras will also again be on-track in the V8 Sleuth Retro Revival category, at 8.30am (race two) and 11.15am (race three). For full event and scheduling information, visit www.supercars.com
QUOTEBOARD: BATHURST 1000 – THURSDAY 10 OCTOBER, 2024
Peter Xiberras – Team Owner, PremiAir Nulon Racing
“I think I had a pretty reasonable day (in the V8 Sleuth Retro Revival) – I started off in practice and let me tell you, there was a lot going on in my head, to be completely up front! I think our times are dropping – these guys are wanting to find a tenth of a second, I was making whole seconds! So hopefully I can lead by example,” he laughed.
Jimmy Golding – #31 PremiAir Nulon Racing Camaro
“That is day one wrapped up here at the Mountain! It was an awesome day, it was great to be out on-track, even if it was pretty eventful with lots of different things going on throughout the day! I can’t wait to get back out there tomorrow.”
David Russell – co-driver, #31 PremiAir Nulon Racing Camaro
“For me I had a bit of Carrera Cup action as well with qualifying before the co-driver session. I would have liked to have started the co-driver session a little earlier, but there was a massive oil leak they were cleaning up and then on top of that there was a brown snake – luckily none of the punters tried to do the snake handler thing or put it on the BBQ! We got underway, but it was shortened down to 40 minutes.”
Tim Slade – #23 PremiAir Nulon Racing Camaro
“It was a magic day with not a cloud in the sky. I had a good coffee to start the day and a real highlight was heading up to the top of the Mountain and seeing some of the diehard fans and some supporters of PremiAir Nulon Racing. We cooked up some snags for them and Jimmy gave away one of his shirts, it was a cool part of the day for sure.”
Cameron McLeod – co-driver, #23 PremiAir Nulon Racing Camaro
“I had a good first run here at Bathurst 1000 for the PremiAir Nulon Racing team – everyone is looking sharp, the car is looking sharp, and I can’t wait to see Tim in qualifying and then get into racing across the next couple of days!”
For more information on PremiAir Nulon Racing, please visit www.premiairracing.com or follow the team on its social media platforms at www.facebook.com/PremiAirRacing/, www.instagram.com/premiair_racing/, www.linkedin.com/company/premiairracing/ and www.twitter.com/premiairracing
