BACK ON TRACK

Relief was the overwhelming emotion as the Golding Motorsport #15 machine rolled into the pits last Saturday night.

It had been a number of years since Rob Golding and the team had made it to the opening show of the season, generally sitting on the sidelines as they waited for parts to arrive, but this year was different, the team burning the midnight oil to make it.

The relief of just making the first show quickly turned to excitement when Rob went out and in what was the very first heat race of the season, raced his heart out and claimed the win!

“That first heat was really good,” smiles Rob. “Starting off outside pole for the first race of the season without any practice was a bit nerve-wracking, so I just concentrated on getting a good start. I was lucky enough to get a good launch and from then it was just about hitting my marks. I was able to watch Buddah (Tom Payet) on the big screen and knew he was right on me, and that any mistake I made he would be there. I don’t think I took a breath for five laps, but it all worked out in the end!”

Rob had a smile from ear to ear as he stepped out of the car, the win a huge confidence builder after a few hits over the last few years.

“To come out of the blocks that strong was a really nice change,” reminisces Rob. “We know we have car speed, but the consistency is what we have been chasing. It’s our first heat win for a while so we’re pretty happy, but we’ve still got a long way to go!”

Focus quickly turned to the second race of the evening: a strong finish needed to set up a solid starting position for the feature race. Although it wasn’t quite as he was hoping, Rob was still able to move forward again after dropping a couple of spots early on to finish in eighth position.

“The second heat unfortunately wasn’t that great,” says Rob. “I got a great jump on the first start only for it to be pulled back. On the second start I was squeezed and pushed into the turn two wall and made pretty heavy contact. The car wasn’t handling great after that, but I was able to finish and start catching the field by the end. When we got back to the pits we found the rim was split and losing pressure so we were lucky just to finish the race.”

With the points tallied, Rob had done enough to start out of position six for the twenty-lap final. As the race got underway Rob would drop back to tenth in the first five laps, but would recover and pass a number of cars to finish the feature in seventh place.

“The feature race was ok, but we just missed the setup,” says Rob. “We were too tight for where we started in the field. After a few very close calls with people throwing some interesting slide jobs, with a tight car I couldn’t pull it up enough to duck back underneath them. Once the race settled down, I was able to catch the cars in front, but the track was too fast to pass when your car isn’t setup right!”

“Overall we’re happy. A heat win was one of our goals this year so to check that one off early is awesome. It’s been a pretty rough couple of years so we’re happy to be back out there and looking forward to a strong season!”

With the night finished, Rob sits in fifth place in the Total Tools Rockingham Perth Motorplex Track Championship and is now looking forward to the race this weekend, particularly as it honours one of his childhood heroes, ‘Big Rev Nev’ Neville Lance. The Neville Lance Twin 14’s is always an exciting event, and you never know, for the Golding Motorsport team, this weekend may be a little bit more special……

Golding Motorsport is proudly supported in season 2023/24 by Quantum Collective, My Race Setup, Dasco Supply Group, QVEE, Thermal Dynamics Engine Heaters, Asteel Powdercoaters, AG Composites, Hyper Industries, Coverall Sheet Metal, Lance Auto Electrics, Sprint Lubricants – WA and Mills Drainage.

Release by DTN Media.

Pic Courtesy DTN/JSP.