Supercars umpire explains divisive Golding/Murray penalty
Craig Baird explains divisive James Golding/Cooper Murray penalty
Golding was penalised over contact with Murray on lap 157 in Bathurst
Golding crossed line first, reclassified third behind winner Matt Payne
Motorsport Australia Driving Standards Advisor Craig Baird has explained why James Golding was penalised over the controversial move that ultimately decided Sunday's Repco Bathurst 1000.
PremiAir Racing's Golding sent then leader Cooper Murray into a half-spin at Griffins Bend with five laps remaining, revealing eventual winner Matt Payne as the leader.
Golding passed Payne on the final lap, but carrying a five-second penalty, was demoted to third behind Payne and Team 18 veteran David Reynolds.
Erebus Motorsport rookie Murray, who came home fourth, later hit out over the incident, saying Golding deserved a more severe penalty. PremiAir boss Peter Xiberras, meanwhile, insisted Murray turned in on Golding.
However, it was consistent with previous rulings given the wet conditions, and was the fourth of four five-second penalties handed out over contact that resulted in minor loss of position, after careless driving penalties for Thomas Randle on Jack Le Brocq, Will Brown on Kai Allen, and Le Brocq on Allen.
Meanwhile, Cameron McLeod was hit with a 15-second penalty over spinning Nash Morris, while Brodie Kostecki copped a drive-through penalty over a hit on Allen, which caused "heavy damage" to the rear of Allen's car.
Speaking to Supercars.com, Baird said the helicopter angle of the Golding/Murray clash was most telling, proving Golding didn't have "sufficient overlap" at the point of contact.
“We utilised [five-second penalties] for much of the day because there were a lot of small contacts, but because of the conditions, it resulted in slightly magnified end results,” Baird said.
“Normally if you try and pass someone and there's a little touch, it doesn't end up resulting in anything really happening. But in those conditions, the five seconds worked better. Once you do it with one, that’s what we do.
"It's always hard being the guy that's got to give a recommendation for a penalty under those situations. But there's no doubt, if you’re Cooper, you're going to be aggrieved. If you're James, you're going to be aggrieved. It depends which hat you're wearing, to whether you agree or not.
“Different angles showed different things, but the telling angle, which doesn't distort like an onboard does sometimes, was the overhead with the chopper. It just didn't lie.
"You could see how far back he came from, what his maximum overlap was, what his overlap was at the point of contact, and it was never sufficient.
"You can say that Cooper turned in. Well, of course he turned in and from the overhead maybe a little bit early, but that's motor racing. At the turn-in point, at no point was there sufficient overlap.
“It was just a shame it ended like that, but it wasn't just 'a touch and they headed up the hill side by side'. Avoidable contact gained a lasting advantage. Otherwise, you'd just move everyone out of the road every time you came to a corner.”
On the Kostecki drive-through, Baird added: “It’s not that there's any intent in it, but it really wrecked Kai's day. We said that at the beginning of the year, if you guys have contact and it results in damaging another car, then it changes the landscape."
The full stewards report reads:
Car/Driver: Car 31 James Golding/David Russell
Competitor: PremiAir Pty Ltd
Date: 12 October 2025
Time: 1731hrs
Session: Race 27
Fact: Car 31 collided with Car 99 at Turn 2 causing Car 99 to lose multiple positions.
Rule: Schedule B2 Article 2.1.1 Careless Driving, departing from the Standard of a competent Driver
Decision: 5 Second Time Penalty to Car 31 in Race 27
Reason: The Stewards reviewed broadcast vision in conjunction with the DSA. The vision showed Car 31 behind Car 99 while approaching Turn 2. Car 31 was on the inside and was the overtaking Car. Car 31 did not have sufficient overlap at the turn-in point for Turn 2. There was collision between the Cars, forcing Car 99 wide at the Turn, resulting in Car 99 losing multiple positions and Car 31 gained an advantage.
The Stewards consider this driving conduct amounts to a breach of the Rules and impose a penalty consistent with previous breaches of a similar nature.
The Competitor is reminded that Decisions and Penalties that may be subject to Appeal are set out in B7.7.2 and the Rights to and process for an Appeal are set out in B5.
It wasn't the only costly penalty for PremiAir Racing, with Richie Stanaway deducted 25 points following a clash that sent Macauley Jones into the wall at Forrest's Elbow. Stanaway later crashed out at The Cutting.
