GC500 Sunday Race Report

LADY LUCK FROWNS ON PREMIAIR NULON RACING

Race 22 Results

Jimmy Golding 

1:49.45 fastest lap

13th

Tim Slade

1:48.58 fastest lap

17th

Qualifying

Jimmy Golding

1:11.44 fastest lap

8th

Tim Slade

1:10.79 fastest lap

19th

PremiAir Nulon Racing is hoping the old adage of what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger after a tough weekend at the Gold Coast 500 which has left the team wondering if they had angered Lady Luck in some way ahead of this outing at their home track. 

As it did on Saturday, the day got off to a good start for Golding, who qualified P10 and then elevated that to a P9 starting position in the shootout, which was then again improved to P8 just before the race start when his future team-mate, Richie Stanaway, was penalised for a qualifying transgression. 

From there Golding had a strong start to his race, but his luck would soon unravel, with the #31 PremiAir Nulon Racing Camaro forced to pit early on lap 10 with a puncture which was picked up after half the field blocked the track in lap one carnage at turn 11 – an incident in which the #23 PremiAir Nulon Racing Camaro of Tim Slade was also caught up in.  

Golding’s luck didn’t improve upon this early trip to the lane either, with his Camaro dropped before the right rear tyre change was completed, which saw him lose around six seconds as the car had to be re-lifted and the tyre correctly fitted before he could resume. 

Compounding the #31’s woes was the fact that only a small amount of fuel was able to be dropped at that early stage of the race, which meant Golding was forced into long time-trial style stints as he sought to manage the tyres, eventually crossing the line P13 in a valiant effort. 

For the #23, it was a much simpler race after another challenging qualifying outing (P19), but one which had its own share of bad luck, with Slade caught up in the track-blocking 14-car accident on lap one through no fault of his own.

The incident, sparked by contact further up the line between Ryan Wood, Anton De Pasquale and then James Courtney, thankfully saw Slade incur only minor damage and he was, after some time, able to extricate himself from the wreckage to continue on, resuming the race from P17 when the safety car left the circuit. 

From there, restricted heavily in making moves by his position in the field and dealing with a lack of pace in the #23, Slade put his head down and, combined with two strong pit stops, drove as hard as he could to maintain position and cross the line in P17. 

PremiAir Nulon Racing will next be on-track for the 2024 Supercars season finale, the Adelaide 500, across November 14-17. For event information, visit www.supercars.com 

QUOTEBOARD: GOLD COAST 500 – SUNDAY OCTOBER 27, 2024

Jimmy Golding – #31 PremiAir Nulon Racing Camaro

“We have had a bit of a rough weekend, I think I ran over a black cat or something as they say, we just really struggled out there and didn’t have anything go our way really. In today’s race I had a puncture and had to pit early and do two really long stints. We managed to come back to 13th, but same as yesterday – with the pit issue and then the cool suit fail – it was an unlucky run for a really tough weekend.  They say these ones make you stronger, so let’s hope it works out that way and we can come out fighting in Adelaide.” 

Tim Slade – #23 PremiAir Nulon Racing Camaro

“It was a struggle this weekend really, in the last couple of rounds we haven’t really had any pace, whereas in the couple of rounds before that we had flashes of speed. To take away nothing from the last two rounds is pretty frustrating, so hopefully we can have a bit more for the last one in Adelaide.” 

Ludo Lacroix – Competition Director, PremiAir Nulon Racing 

“Jimmy was having a good start and driving okay managing the tyres for the first stint, but then we had a puncture on the rear left within three laps, and unfortunately there is nothing you can do about a puncture. Coming in so early means we couldn’t put in very much fuel, so we had to basically time trial to the end and you can’t push. And we had a little issue in the pit stop unfortunately so lost another six seconds – I feel sorry for the guys as they work very hard, we need to do better for sure but they got hammered yesterday and they got hammered again a bit today, and that is tough. The last stint was definitely better, and we finished P13 which showcased somewhat that the car had some speed.

“The 23 had a more simple race but we were at the back of the pack so you are always slow because there are too many cars in front, but he managed to get around and do his laps and it was a good last stint, but it wasn’t one where he was able to shine really and some of that starts with qualifying – if you don’t qualify well on a street circuit, you are not going to have a good day. And he paid a price for sure (with the first lap accident) which is what happens when you are P19, sometimes you are lucky to escape and sometimes you don’t, and that is what happened. We told him to go left as the right was blocked but then the left was blocked and he had nowhere to go. It is unfortunate as he did have a good start. 

“We will regroup now and try to go to the next race and stay focused on the points for the championship and try and get Jimmy in the top five and try and give Tim a good send off if we can – he has been a very good servant to the team, so that is what we are aiming for.” 

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