It is safe to say that The Bend 500 did not go the way that PremiAir Racing had envisaged, with a combination of bad luck and small mistakes combining to undermine a return to strong car pace for both PremiAir Racing Camaros.
“We actually had pretty good pace, sort of top eight pace for most of the race and the car felt really good, ” commented Richie Stanaway. “We were just unfortunately a bit out of position and had a fair bit of dirty air from the car in front for the last half of the last stint, but we were trucking along pretty decent there and made up some time towards the end and I was quite enjoying driving the car.”
Co-drivers Nash Morris (#62, with Richie Stanaway) and David Russell (#31, with Jimmy Golding) started the race from P19 and P22 respectively, with both putting in a strong display in the opening lap to climb a number of positions right off the bat.
Morris went from P19 to P14 but was then forced to the pit lane with a lap one right rear puncture, scuppering the progress he had made and sending him to the back of the field.
‘D-Russ’ meanwhile was charging ahead, climbing eight positions to P14 by the second lap, before receiving a five second penalty for opening lap contact with car 96, which was served at the first pit stop.
Russell pushed on to make up as much time on track as he could before that stop, eventually heading into the pits for the first time on lap 18 from 14th position, resuming 25th. Morris meanwhile stopped for his first regular pit stop on lap 27, having climbed back to 14th position as the rest of the field undertook their pit stops when originally scheduled.
Back on the track, both drivers pushed hard through their second stints to the race’s mid-point, where they would hand over to Golding (#31, on lap 46) and Stanaway (#62, on lap 48) – with the main drivers ready to take the PremiAir Racing Camaros the rest of the way home.
With both cars feeling pacey, Golding and Stanaway got to work, but the problems for the team were not yet over – especially for the #31, with two trips through the grass, a spin (for which the other driver involved was penalised), and a pit lane penalty which was incurred when Golding accidentally hit the pit lane speed limiter button off before the end of the lane as he made his way into the race for the first time.
Even so, they kept their heads down and did what they could to finish the race, log valuable data, and claw back what time they could – eventually crossing the line in P23 (Stanaway/Norris) and P25 (Golding/Russell).
While obviously disappointed in the result, the drivers and team were quick to point to the positives – in particular car pace and strong pit stops – and expressed a desire to get to work preparing for ‘the big one,’ October’s Bathurst 1000 (October 9-12).
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