PremiAir Racing has rounded out their Ipswich Super 440 experience with a double top ten result in the third and final race of the Repco Supercars Championship weekend.
Jimmy Golding and the #31 PremiAir Racing Camaro started the 63-lap race from 7th on the grid after making it into the Top Ten Shootout with the eighth quickest time in the second part of the knock-out qualifying.
Richie Stanaway, meanwhile just missed out on making the Shootout by 0.002s, lining up P11 in the #62 PremiAir Racing Camaro.
“It has been a pretty solid weekend for us, we had a couple of top ten finishes, it has been a nice little turn of form compared to the last few rounds.
“I feel like we learnt a lot more than we have been lately, so I think we have really figured out how to get some speed out of this car which is something to take into this last part of the season,” said Stanaway. “I am looking forward to building some momentum up, and it is nice to have a good couple of results at our home track.”
It was a hectic start to the race with rain falling early, and the team made the call to hold out until the first of two Compulsory Pit Stops to make the decision on whether to move to wet tyres.
This ultimately paid off, as by that time, wets were no longer required, with the rain dissipating and the track drying out – however the previous laps on slicks in wet conditions certainly required all the concentration possible from both drivers, who held on as best they could.
Across the race, Golding was 10th as the CPS train began, running as high as P2 before diving in on lap 24 for his pit stop, resuming in P14. Stanaway, meanwhile, had been 9th when the first stops commenced, also running as high as P2 before pitting the lap after Golding, resuming in P17. Both stops went to plan, seeing the pair back on track quickly with fuel and four new tyres on-board.
Not long after a safety car was called for a stranded competitor, with the entire field taking advantage of the chance to conduct a CPS in neutralised conditions.
Both Golding and Stanaway came to the lane for two flawless back to back stops, but even so, did feel some disadvantage compared to three other cars in the field who were able to complete both of their CPSs under the safety car.
The restart came with 29 laps to go, with Golding in 11th and Stanaway 12th, soon moving to 10th and 11th respectively, working together to try and ensure a double ten – an endeavour in which they were ultimately successful, despite Golding battling with battery issues in the #31 in the final five laps.
While they crossed the line 10th and 11th on the road, this equalled a finishing result of 9th (Golding) and 10th (Stanaway), by virtue of a competitor ahead of them on the road having a 15 second penalty on their head.
With this final round of the Sprint Cup now complete, PremiAir Racing and the rest of the Supercars field turns its attention to the enduro season, which will commence with The Bend 500 over 12-14 September at The Bend Motorsport Park.
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