PremiAir Racing has raced through for P4 (Golding) and P5 (Stanaway) in this afternoon’s 78-lap two-stop race 13 at Symmons Plains Raceway.
The result combines with two top ten results in Saturday’s races 11 (P9) and 12 (P6) to ensure a solid points haul for the team as the Tasmania Super 440 – which included Richie Stanaway’s 100th Supercars race today – came to a close.
For a moment, it looked like the team might even bring home their second podium, or perhaps even a breakthrough race win, with Jimmy Golding pulling off an incredible start to take the #31 PremiAir Racing Camaro from P4 to the lead by turn 2.
Golding had started on the second row of the grid after both he and team-mate Stanaway made it to the top ten shootout earlier in the day, with the #31 improving in that shootout from P9 to a P4 starting position, while Stanaway improved from P8 to P6 in the #62 PremiAir Racing Camaro.
After his incredible start which was repeatedly lauded by the commentary team, Golding would hold the race lead for 29 laps, at which point he and then second-placed Broc Feeney dived into the pits on lap 30 under safety car conditions.
It was here in the lane that Feeney was able to jump Golding with a slightly quicker pit stop, seeing Golding rejoin just behind as the field continued to be controlled by the safety car.
The race resumed on lap 34, with Golding putting in a fantastic drive to retain second position behind Feeney until lap 53, when a move by James Courtney – who was a lap down – shuffled Golding to the outside and allowed Ryan Wood – who was racing for position – to pass from behind, moving Golding into P3.
As the second round of pit stops for those who hadn’t double-stopped under the safety car unfolded, Golding again took control of the race for a short time before heading to the pits himself on lap 60.
He resumed in P7, from where he fought hard to get himself back into P4 and in sight of P3 by the time the checkered flags flew.
While all this was going on, Richie Stanaway in the #62 PremiAir Racing Camaro was putting in his own impressive drive to advance through the field as he celebrated his 100th Supercars race start.
The Kiwi started the race P6 on the grid after his shootout performance and held strong in p7 across the early stages of the race before pitting from P6 on lap 29.
A slick stop saw him rejoin fourth on the road, a position he maintained until his next pit stop on lap 57 with a determined and skilled drive at the wheel of the #62.
Following that second stop, another quick effort from the team, he rejoined in P14 before climbing his way back through to P8 by lap 60, P6 by lap 66 and into P5 on the final lap to ensure a ‘double top five’ result for PremiAir Racing.
PremiAir Racing will next be on-track for the Perth Super 440 across June 6-8. For event information, visit www.supercars.com
QUOTEBOARD: TASMANIA SUPER 440 – Sunday 11 May, 2025
Ludo Lacroix – Competition Director, PremiAir Racing
“It is a good day, solid qualifying this morning, both drivers were happy with where we were with the set-up. It was a solid race with no mistake in the pit stops, everything was smooth. We didn’t take the option of doing the double stop under safety car and trying to go to the end with the tyre, that could have worked obviously, but it is probably something where we would think about that when we are a solid contender in the top five, it wasn’t the time today to do that. Two of the guys in front of us were not necessarily faster than us, but they did that strategy, so it is something to think about. But today we wanted to consolidate what we have seen, score points, not lose points, and that was the way to do a simple strategy and run the car with the speed and the driver with the speed, so they can measure themselves against the others and think of what we need to improve next time. I am very happy with that and for them and I am happy with the direction. It will be a grind again to head to Perth and understand everything.”
Jimmy Golding – #31 PremiAir Racing Camaro
“It was an awesome start, I have had pretty good starts for the last, well as long as I can remember, and that was one where it really got utilised. We obviously got a bit excited, Wood went hard left and I just saw the heavens open. I just made sure I cleared Broc tipping it in to turn two there and then it was full eyes forward. With clear air at the front, I didn’t have to worry about too much other than driving smooth and fast. I did think that (that maybe this is the day for a win), it definitely entered the mind, but I just refocused back on the job and did everything I could possibly do to get there. Obviously, it wasn’t meant to be with how the race played out and there are a couple of things that we could have done better, so we will revise all that and make sure we can do it next time.”
Richie Stanaway – #62 PremiAir Racing Camaro
“It has been a great day for us. It was a nice recovery from yesterday – we had a nice solid qualifying and we backed it up with a solid race, so I am pretty happy, and it is a nice way to end the weekend. It is my best result so far for the team and my first shootout for the team. It was sort of about time I started to get some runs on the board with the slow start to the year and hopefully now we can continue building momentum throughout the year.”
For more information on PremiAir 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
