Blanchard Racing Team Fords facing investigation
Bend 500 ran time certain, catching BRT short on driving time
James Golding, Aaron Cameron short of minimum driver laps
The Blanchard Racing Team is facing a double disqualification after a time certain finish to Sunday's AirTouch 500 at The Bend.
Sunday’s epic race, which was won by Walkinshaw TWG Racing and the all-star Chaz Mostert/Fabian Coulthard pairing, was impacted by rain and three Safety Car interventions.
The 500km race, which was scheduled to run over 147 laps, ran time certain. The winning car recorded 141 laps, which was more than 74% of the scheduled distance.
With the 74% marker achieved, the requirement of each driver to complete at least 54 laps remained.
BRT co-drivers Richie Stanaway and Zak Best completed 91 and 85 laps respectively, with James Golding and Aaron Cameron recording 50 and 52 laps respectively.
Motorsport Australia advised BRT has been summonsed to the stewards post-race.
Should a disqualification be applied, it could spell disaster for Golding’s Finals hopes. Golding opened up a 107-point gap over 11th placed Jack Le Brocq after the race. Fellow Finals rival Jayden Ojeda finished a strong fifth.
Golding/Stanaway finished seventh, and Cameron/Best 25th, four laps down after several incidents through the day, notably with both Red Bull Ampol Racing cars.
