Classic Didn’t Bring Classic Results!

Last weekend at the Perth Motorplex was supposed to be a big one for Rob Golding and the Golding Motorsport team.

Racing in the annual John Day Speedcar Classic is always a highlight of the season, but despite the team’s best efforts, it was just another one of those nights.

The night began with qualifying, Rob in the second group where after competing against names like Michael Pickens and Kaiden Manders, he was ninth quick in his group and sixteenth fastest overall.

“I was disappointed after time trials,” says Rob. “I felt ok but couldn’t get a clean lap with traffic. Being early in the night the track isn’t wide enough to make any moves, so we just had to settle, but I felt a lot quicker than my time showed!”

The format being what it was, Rob would start the opening heat from ninth while the second round would see a complete invert, leaving Rob to come from second in the fourth heat race. Moving forward a couple of positions to finish seventh in the opening preliminary was a solid result, while Rob repeated those efforts in the final heat of the night.

“The first heat was tough off the back. The car was ok and we picked up a few spots but it felt like the car lacked a bit of forward drive so we went to work in between heats. For our second heat I got off to a good start but got caught in the wrong spot going into turn one. Unfortunately three cars went for the same piece of track and I got squeezed and ended up riding a wheel; no damage but losing so much momentum so early on, all the cars went flying past so I ended up last by the start of the next lap. I picked up a few spots towards the end but the night wasn’t going how we had thought!”

With the results tallied, Rob would start from position fifteen in the nineteen-car field for the thirty-lap feature event.

“Being so deep in the pack I really wanted to finish so I went into turn one very cautiously, just in case something happened in front. After that I started to find the line up top and it was working pretty well and we were gaining on the other cars. Going into turn three I was following Will Douglas and he got a big push, so I tried to go underneath him. His car gripped up and turned left which I didn’t expect and I’ve managed to hit his left rear which turned my car around. No ones fault, just a racing incident!”

Rob would resume the race from the back of the field, looking to advance as many positions as possible.

“After the restart I felt pretty good; we ran the top whilst most cars were at the bottom. Unfortunately the power steering hose then split. I saw it go and felt it go almost instantly. I rolled around the bottom for a couple of laps deciding whether to pull in or press on. After the night we’d had a I just wanted to finish. I can tell you that I don’t want to drive another 25 laps around there with no power steering!”

“With a heavy fuel load so early on it was pretty damn tough, the car didn’t want to turn at all. I got very close to pulling in before the red light. That gave me a chance to check a few things and make some adjustments on the shocks. I carried on as everyone went to the top, thinking if I could stick down the bottom out of everyone’s way then I could nurse it to the finish. A couple of extra yellows helped give me a bit of a break to stretch the arms and hands and make more adjustments to the shocks. Once the fuel load burnt off, I was able to get the car to turn by using the accelerator to get it sideways then hold onto it down the straight. To be honest we weren’t that slow down there, but didn’t have as much control over the car and I didn’t want to affect anyone else’s race. I was counting down the laps until the flag!”

Rob would bring the #15 machine home in tenth place, a great achievement considering the lack of power steering. The team found the part that caused the problem and as is usually the case with these things, it was a $10 part!

The team however is determined to bounce back and will be putting in a few big days in the shed trying to get everything right before heaving down to Albany to race again this weekend!

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 and Mills Drainage.

Release by DTN Media.

Pic Courtesy Cochrane Photography.