PremiAir Racing has rounded out its Taupō Super 440 weekend with a second top ten result, with Jimmy Golding bringing home P10 in the #31 PremiAir Racing Camaro in today’s race 10 of the Supercars Championship.
Golding had started the 61-lap/200km race from 10th on the grid after making it through the two-phase qualifying to take part in the Top Ten Shootout.
Off the start, Golding was able to gain two positions to run in eighth position until the first round of compulsory pit stops started to unfold, pitting from P7 on lap 20 to take on four tyres and fuel. After a slick stop, the #31 resumed in 19th position before climbing back through the field to be back in the top ten less than 10 laps later.
When the second round of CPSs started to unfold, the #31 stayed out until the later stages to try and take advantage of clean air, pitting on lap 44 from P5 and resuming in P15 before first climbing back to P11 and then in the final laps, P10.
Richie Stanaway in the #62 PremiAir Racing Camaro started the race from P17 after a difficult qualifying, and like Golding was able to gain two positions off the start to move into P15.
“We had a disappointing qualifying, we just didn’t have enough speed, but we had some really good pace in the race,” commented Stanaway. “It was very promising, the strongest I have been all year in terms of race pace, so if we can combine that in the future with some better track position, we have some potential to get a good result. “
One of the last to pit in the first round of CPSs, the Kiwi pitted from P5 on lap 22 (two laps after Golding) for four tyres and fuel, rejoining in P19. He would go on to move back up to P15 before the next round of CPSs commenced, pitting on lap 43 (one lap before Golding) from P7 for four tyres and fuel, rejoining in P15. From there he was able to advance to P12 over the closing stages, before ultimately crossing the line in P13.
“There are a lot of positives to take away from the race this afternoon. There are also a few little things to work on and hopefully we are better off later in the season. I think driving on last year’s tyre last year made me realise I haven’t really been maximising the new tyre we have for this season, so today I went into the race with an objective of doing a better job of maximising the tyre.
“We have to race on now for the rest of the season and part of that involved being able to extend the first stint which made the race a lot better for us, and it was a lot more enjoyable, being on the aggressive side at the end of the race. So, it is something that we will definitely be using throughout the rest of the season.”
Next up for PremiAir Racing and the Supercars championship is the Tasmania Super 440, to be held at Symmons Plains Raceway in Launceston (Tasmania) across May 9-11.
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