James Golding opens up on costly Bend 500 DSQ
BRT Fords disqualified from Sunday's Bend enduro
Golding now 87 points down on 10th heading to Bathurst
James Golding isn't giving up on his goal to qualify for the 2026 Repco Supercars Finals Series, despite being smashed by a costly disqualification.
Golding dropped from 10th to 14th in the championship after both Blanchard Racing Team Fords were disqualified from Sunday's Ryco Enduro Cup opener at The Bend.
Both BRT Mustangs did not comply with the minimum lap rule, with the outcome taking Golding's Finals hopes from relative comfort, to relative danger.
Golding lost 182 points, taking him from the driver most likely to secure the last Finals spot, to an outside chance.
BRT stated that their timing software incorrectly calculated that the full scheduled distance would be completed within the race's time limit. Regardless, stewards opted to disqualify both cars.
Speaking to media at Wednesday's Gold Coast launch, Golding insisted he had to get around his team, and make sure Bathurst is a good one.
"From my point of view, it's something I couldn't control,” Golding told media.
"So, all I can do is get around the team, support them as much as possible. Obviously we've gotta learn from what went wrong, but also we can't dwell on it.
"We've gotta refocus and put all our energy now into the next race, making sure we execute that.”
Golding and co-driver Richie Stanaway need to challenge for victory at Mount Panorama in order to have a chance of denying Jack Le Brocq, Jayden Ojeda, Thomas Randle and Andre Heimgartner the last Finals spot. Le Brocq holds the coveted 10th spot, with Heimgartner (-62), Randle (-63), Ojeda (-70) and Golding (-87) just behind.
"Definitely still in the mix. Bathurst's 300 points for a race win. I think we're 87 points off 10th with Le Brocq.
"So realistically it’s more difficult, but it's not like it's basically impossible. That race is crazy. Anything can happen. We've seen it time and time again.
“We've just gotta make sure we execute our part and be in front of those guys at the end of the day.”
On pulling off a miracle, Golding added: "I want to still be positive and think we've got a chance for it, which we do.
"But at the end of the day, it’s gonna be a little bit more difficult for us than the other guys we're battling.
"There's four other cars, and we're all battling for that last position. For us going to Bathurst, we've just gotta do the best we possibly can and where everyone else finishes, we can't control.
"So that's what we'll be focusing on.”
