PremiAir slide a 'mystery' to Stanaway
PremiAir slide post-Tasmania a "mystery" to Richie Stanaway
Stanaway, James Golding struggling in qualifying since Tasmania
Golding left exposed to lap 1 chaos in Saturday's Townsville race
PremiAir Racing's drop-off since Tasmania is proving a "mystery" to Richie Stanaway, following a head-scratching run of form for the team.
After a mixed start to 2025, PremiAir Racing flew to a double top five in the Tasmania finale, offering hope to a strong run home.
However, it has been slim pickings since; across Perth, Darwin and Townsville, Stanaway has an average qualifying of 18.6, and Golding 16.8.
It's no better in the races, Stanaway recording an average of 17.4, and Golding 16.0. Both drivers have a DNF to their names, Stanaway and Golding taken out in incidents in Darwin and Townsville.
To the upcoming Century Batteries Ipswich Super 440, Golding is 16th, 166 points behind 10th, while Stanaway is 338 down in 20th.
Qualifying speed, or lack thereof, is affecting both drivers; PremiAir's average qualifying result in Townsville was 17.8, leaving Golding exposed to the incident that ruined his Saturday race.
Speaking after Sunday's race, where Golding and Stanaway finished 13th and 14th, the 2023 Bathurst winner was hopeful PremiAir can turn a corner ahead of the final Sprint Cup round.
"To be honest, the last few rounds have been pretty tough," Stanaway said on the broadcast.
"We've just lost a bit of our momentum that we started to build up around Tasmania.
"It's a bit of a mystery, really. It's difficult when the answers aren't clear, because then it's difficult to learn and move forward.
"We've got a fair bit to think about before QR to try and figure out how we can be more competitive."
Golding will be partnered by David Russell for the Enduro Cup, with Nash Morris tipped to join Stanaway. Morris will steer a PremiAir Camaro at an upcoming evaluation day.
