NULON RACING HOPING TO SPRINT TO A PODIUM IN MELBOURNE

After finishing the season-opening Newcastle 500 with both cars in the top ten, Nulon Racing has its eye well and truly on its next goal at this weekend’s Melbourne SuperSprint: a podium.  

Nulon Racing Team Principal, Matt Cook, said a breakthrough podium was well and truly in the team’s sights – starting with the March 30-April 2 event on the streets of Melbourne as part of the Australian Grand Prix. 

“While Newcastle certainly didn’t all go our way, it was undeniably a big step forward for our team with both cars in both top ten shootouts and both finishing in the top ten in Sunday’s race, and Jimmy just shy of a podium in fourth place,” Cook said. 

“Peter (Xiberras, team boss) has promised the team that we will taste champagne this season, and I can tell you, the team is very thirsty! 

“We are leaving no stone unturned in our pursuit of this next goal, of our breakthrough podium, and I am confident it is going to come, if not in Melbourne, then sometime soon.  

“We have good momentum from Newcastle, both drivers are liking the new cars, and we have spent a lot of time dissecting what worked and what didn’t from the season opener. 

“While the Melbourne circuit is a completely different track to Newcastle, there are still a lot of lessons we can carry over from Newcastle and if things go our way, I am confident we can make a very good showing of it with both of our Nulon Racing Camaros in Melbourne – so watch this space.”  

Tim Slade – who marked his 400th Supercars career start as part of his first event with Nulon Racing in Newcastle – said the Melbourne SuperSprint always delivers plenty of action.  

The Adelaidean has previously stood on the Melbourne SuperSprint podium with 3rd in race five of the 2019 season, while Albert Park also hosted his best results of 2022 with a pair of fourth positions in the opening and closing races of the event.  

“I am definitely looking forward to the Melbourne SuperSprint as part of the Australian Grand Prix, I really enjoy the circuit and the event as a whole,” Slade said.  

“It is always cool to see the Formula 1 cars early in their season, and as a follower of Formula 2 and 3 it will be cool to see those cars here in Australia for the first time also.  

“For us, the circuit is smooth, fast and flowing – the polar opposite to Newcastle – so it will be interesting to see how the Gen3 cars behave there.  

“Although we didn’t maximise our potential in Newcastle, we showed good speed and that is something I really hope we can consistently reproduce.”  

Golding is excited about what the weekend may bring for him and the #31 Nulon Racing Camaro at the Melbourne SuperSprint, which is held amidst all the fanfare of the Australian Grand Prix – round three of the 2023 Formula One World Championship.  

“I am really excited to head back down to Melbourne to race alongside Formula One. It is always such a thrilling event with a big crowd around the Albert Park Lake,” Golding said.  

“The track is very enjoyable to drive because of the high-speed corners and technical sections, thanks to the recent circuit upgrades. 

“While it will be my first time driving a Supercar around the new layout, I did race the S5000 car around there last year and absolutely loved it. 

“The Melbourne circuit is the polar opposite in style to the Newcastle track and it will be a whole different kettle of fish – you could almost say we will be starting over again in terms of the set-up dynamics required for the Gen3 cars around this smooth and high-speed track. 

“We will be giving it a red hot crack, and hopefully we can pick up from where we left off at Newcastle.”  

Round two of the 2023 Supercars Championship, the Melbourne SuperSprint as part of the Melbourne Grand Prix, will be held across March 30 to April 2, 2023.  

For event information, visit www.supercars.com.au 

For more information on 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