It was a day that started with promise for PremiAir Racing on the streets of Surfers Paradise as both Richie Stanaway in the #62 PremiAir Racing Camaro and Jimmy Golding in the #31 PremiAir Racing Camaro made strong starts on Saturday. Despite early pace and smart strategy calls, the race didn’t unfold as the team had hoped, with Golding crossing the line in 13th and Stanaway in 19th after a tough day at the office at the Gold Coast 500.
Qualifying began under overcast skies, with both drivers narrowly split in the incredibly competitive Q1, with just nine-tenths of a second covering the top 18 positions back to the cut-off line. Golding just advanced to Q2, while Stanaway missed out by one position.
The field then rolled straight into Q2, where Golding began on roaded tyres to get a feel for the track. After a kerb strike, he returned to pit lane for a fresh set of greens with five minutes remaining, just enough time for a final push to reach the top ten.
He delivered a sensational lap, climbing from 12th to as high as 4th before settling in 6th as drama unfolded elsewhere on the track. The session was red-flagged with five seconds to go after another car came to rest in a tyre bundle.
In the Top Ten Shootout, the time to beat stood at 1m09.2019s when the #31 PremiAir Racing Camaro hit the track. A purple middle sector contributed to a strong 1m09.2726s, rocketing Golding into P2 with five cars still to run.
The Top Ten Shootout was briefly paused to recover another car that hit the wall, with both incidents during the opening sessions of the day serving as pointed reminders of the fine line between risk and reward on the streets of the Gold Coast.
When all was said and done, Golding gained one position from his provisional result to start Race 28 in P5, while Stanaway lined up P18, elevated one spot after another competitor was ruled out following a Q2-ending incident.
In Race 28, both drivers made clean getaways from the green flag in what was a perfect opening lap, with Golding holding firm in P5 and Stanaway charging off the line to gain six places, sitting P13 by the end of the opening lap.
As the field began to settle in, Golding reported rising gearbox temperature, forcing the team to consider an early stop to manage the problem.
The first Safety Car of the race was deployed shortly after, with the crew acting quickly to repair the gearbox fan issue on Golding’s car. But the timing meant a double-stack and lengthy stop time for Stanaway, dropping him down the order.
Strategy began to play out as Stanaway completed four more stops during the second and third Safety Car periods and a subsequent full course yellow for three separate incidents, topping up on fuel and completing the compulsory pit stops with no track position lost.
The race resumed with 30 laps complete and Stanaway in an excellent position in P14, line astern to Golding in P13.
With the two PremiAir Racing Camaros now on very different strategies, Golding still needed to stop for fuel and to complete the compulsory pit stops.
As the laps ticked over, the early strategy calls for Stanaway began to pay off. The #62 systematically began to move forward in the field, well into the top 10 with 32 laps to go as Golding completed his second compulsory stop with four fresh tyres and fuelled until the end.
A final stop for Stanaway to serve a 5-second time penalty saw the #62 take on four fresh tyres and a final fuel drop for the run home.
The intensity began to build with 11 laps to go, as Golding tested the kerb limits, while a few laps later Stanaway made contact with the wall and limped home with splitter damage and a punctured right-front tyre. The team worked quickly and got Stanaway back out in time to finish the race.
The Gold Coast 500 concludes on Sunday 26 October, with another action-packed schedule including qualifying for the second 85-lap race of the weekend at 10.00am and the Top Ten Shootout at 11.35am ahead of Race 29 at 2.10pm. All times AEST. For full event and scheduling information, go to www.supercars.com
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QUOTEBOARD: GOLD COAST 500, SATURDAY 25 OCTOBER 2025
Ludo Lacroix – Competition Director, PremiAir Racing
“Jimmy did a very good job today. It wasn’t easy for him; he didn’t run any new tyres yesterday, so he didn’t really know what to expect. He was solid in qualifying and ran as high as P5 in the race before we discovered a small gearbox issue at the rear. We had to fix that during a pit stop, which cost around 15 seconds and dropped him back into the midfield.”
“Richie had a good start but cut the chicane on lap one, gaining a few spots and earning a five-second penalty. When the safety car came out, we used the opportunity to fix Jimmy’s issue and top up fuel. Unfortunately, while fighting back through the field later, Richie locked a tyre while racing his teammate, something we had discussed, and that caused a tyre failure on the straight. He recovered to finish around P19–P20, which at least gives us some points.”
“Both drivers showed more pace today than the results reflect — and that’s been the story of our year at times. A few small issues or moments can turn things around quickly, but the potential and speed are definitely there. We’ll regroup and come back stronger tomorrow.
Jimmy Golding – #31 PremiAir Racing Camaro
“Yeah, the car’s still in one piece, which is good! We had a bit of a gearbox drama during the race that we had to fix in a pit stop, which cost us around 15 seconds all up. It’s a shame, because the car had really good pace and we were sitting pretty solidly inside the top five at that point. Once we made that unscheduled stop, we were right back in the pack, and from there it was about keeping it clean and bringing it home.
I’m actually really happy with how the car felt. The boys did an awesome job getting it dialled in for the race. The balance was strong, and it responded well to the changes we made after practice, so that gives us a good direction moving forward.
Now it’s just about resetting and going again tomorrow. I know we’ve got a fast car underneath us, so if we can execute well and keep things tidy, we should be in a good position to fight up the front.”
Richie Stanaway – #62 PremiAir Racing Camaro
“Yeah, it was a tough one today. We got a really strong start and made up some good ground early, but from there the race just didn’t unfold in our favour.
We had to double-stack in the first stop behind Jimmy while the team worked to fix an issue with his transmission cooling, so that set us back early. The strategy was shaping up well from the rear, and we were trying to make something of it.
I locked a tyre while racing with my teammate, and unfortunately, that led to a tyre failure on the straight. The crew did an awesome job getting the car repaired and back out so we could finish I really appreciate their effort.
Not the result we wanted, but we’ll regroup overnight and look to turn it around tomorrow.”
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