'It was never on': Murray hits out at Golding over controversial clash
Cooper Murray hits out at James Golding over controversial clash
Golding spun Murray out of race lead in closing laps in Bathurst
Golding penalised and demoted to third, Murray fourth
A "heartbroken" Cooper Murray insists James Golding’s controversial move at the end of the Repco Bathurst 1000 wasn't on, and that the PremiAir Racing driver deserved a larger penalty.
Murray and Golding duelled for victory in Sunday’s enthralling race in Bathurst, with eventual winner Matt Payne trailing behind in third.
On lap 157, Golding fired down the inside at Griffins Bend, only to send Murray’s Chiko Chevrolet towards the barriers. Payne went through, Golding slotted into second, and Murray dropped behind David Reynolds.
Golding crossed the line first, but a five-second penalty awarded victory to Payne. Murray, meanwhile, crawled his car home in fourth.
“To be honest, I thought the move was never on,” Murray told Supercars.com after the race.
"In these conditions, as soon as you get off the racing line, the tram tracks, it's just standing water everywhere.
"And we saw it with Matt Payne when he tried to pass me, he just locked the rears because he hit standing water and fired off. Jimmy was never going to make that corner. Unfortunately I was a bystander in that.
“I also don't think five seconds was good enough of a penalty for the outcome.
"But on the bright side, to say I was leading the Bathurst 1000 with five laps ago is pretty cool. If you said we're going to finish fourth at the start of the day, we would've taken that. So there's always positives, but I wouldn't wish this pain on my worst enemy, that's for sure."
Murray admitted he would have had a crack if he was in Golding's position, but reiterated his devastation.
“It's heartbreaking, it was an awesome day. Me and Jobe [Stewart] didn't really put a foot wrong all race. I was a bit of a wobbler at the start in the wet, it took me a little bit to get up to speed," continued Murray.
“The Erebus crew didn't put a put wrong all weekend as well. A massive credit to those guys. The team's been really good these last three to four rounds.
“It's been awesome to be part of this team and roll on Gold Coast."
The pair were spotted discussing the incident in the paddock following the post-race press conference, in which Golding shared his side of the equation of the move which ultimately cost him the Great Race.
"I had to have a go," declared Golding.
"My car was so fast but it just took a little bit to get going every time the tyres cooled off, every Safety Car I was working hard to keep the temp up, and a couple of laps after it took a bit to get going.
"I was trying to hold off as best as I could, and then I knew it would come back to me, and I had the pace later on.
"I was probably best into Turn 2 under brakes, down the hill under brakes, and also at The Chase under brakes, which is where I made a lot of passes.
"Cooper was really strong off the elbow, so when I had that run out of Turn 1, I knew I had to go for it and have a go."
"I knew I'd regret it if I didn't have a go so unfortunately it didn't work out, I'm sorry to him that it didn't work out and sorry it didn't work out for their team, but it's racing, I had to have a go."
