In the dying laps of the race, Golding attempted to pass Murray at Griffins Bend. The cars made contact, which resulted in the latter being pushed into a spin and allowing Grove Racing’s Matt Payne through to the race lead.
Stewards subsequently issued Golding a five-second penalty, applied to his time post-race. He was able to pass Payne on the final lap but could not extend the gap enough to take victory.
The #31 PremiAir Camaro ended up third behind the #20 Team 18 Camaro of David Reynolds and Lee Holdsworth.
In doing so, Golding became the first driver since Jamie Whincup in 2016 to cross the Bathurst 1000 finish line first but not win, a result the first-time podium finisher at the Great Race said was tough to swallow.
“It was a little bit of an empty feeling. I was happy, [but it was] an empty feeling. I honestly enjoyed that race, it was the best race I’ve ever done, to be a part of,” Golding said post-race.
“It was just phenomenal. When you’ve got a good car to compete for a win [in] any race is awesome, but at the biggest race in Australia, it was just unreal.”
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When asked if the penalty fit the crime, Golding said he had not yet seen the clash from the broadcast point of view, but thought at the time it was his only chance to take victory.
“I need to have a look at the replay. I thought the move was on, I had to have a go at it, I’m unsure what it looks like from TV but the contact was just enough to turn Cooper,” said Golding.
“[In] wet conditions, it doesn’t take much. [It was] touch and go, I’ll have to have a look.”
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MATT PAYNE TAKES THE LEAD!!!!!#RepcoSC #Supercars #Bathurst1000 pic.twitter.com/hF1B2dreQu
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It was a disappointing end to a strong day for the #31 PremiAir entry, which led a number of laps in race, especially with co-driver David Russell behind the wheel.
The result gave ‘D-Russ’ his second Bathurst 1000 podium result, having finished second with Brodie Kostecki at Erebus in 2023.
Golding hailed Russell and the team’s efforts to take their first Great Race podium, which came off the back of focusing on wet-weather setups in Thursday practice – the only day prior to the race where it rained.
”From D-Russ to our race engineer Simon Hodge, we put the hard work in through practice because we knew the weather was coming, we dialled the car in as close to a wet-weather car as we could get away with in the dry without affecting it,” Golding added.
“We knew we had pace in both conditions and knew we just had to let the race come to us. D-Russ did a faultless job, the whole crew, the mechanics, everyone down to the physios, it’s been an unreal day and I can’t thank them enough.
“[It’s] the one that got away, I suppose, but pretty cool to get P3 as well at Bathurst.”
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