Le Brocq's pain is Golding's gain at crucial tipping point

If ever there was a time for James Golding and Blanchard Racing Team to rediscover red-hot form, Ipswich was the best possible time to do it.

Entering Sunday, it had been some 14 races since the #7 CoolDrive Ford had finished inside the top 10 in a Supercars race, dating all the way back to a wild finale in Christchurch.

At that stage of the season, Golding was nearly 100 points clear of the Finals bubble, but a tough run of form saw the 30-year-old enter Ipswich 20 points behind Jack Le Brocq in 10th.

Golding moved ahead of Le Brocq via countback in the first race of the weekend, and looked set to pull away further before being on the wrong end of a three-wide squeeze with Anton De Pasquale and Ryan Wood in the second race.

However, that was quickly forgotten with a stirring Sunday performance, as BRT recorded a double top 10 in both qualifying and the race.

Golding led the way, scoring a superb P5 after Chaz Mostert and Matt Payne both fell by the wayside with engine dramas. What was a 16-point deficit entering Sunday swung wildly into a 55-point advantage, as Le Brocq fought to 20th amid a string of issues.

"Top 10 again for us for qualy, the car was really speedy out there," said Golding in a team video.

"I plucked a few off in the race, it was a bit of a lonely race. I had couple of passes but a few people had dramas, and I finished P5.

"Moved back into the top 10 in the championship, a few teams' championship jump as well, I think we jumped two points there. Bring on Tailem Bend."

The 2025 Bathurst podium finisher wasn't without issues of his own, however, with the CoolDrive Ford plagued with radio issues throughout the weekend's three races.

BRT poked fun at the radio dramas in a social media video that has amassed almost 20 million views on Instagram alone, which Golding also made further reference to.

"The radio again, I should've started singing a different song, I couldn't think of anything," quipped Golding.

"That was exciting, made it not boring. I was blowing up a little bit, but really I was calm. I just wanted everyone to stress out a bit."

Golding reunites with former teammate Richie Stanaway in the enduros, Stanaway one of just six drivers on the enduro grid to have won both the pre-Bathurst '500' and The Great Race.

The AirTouch 500 at The Bend will be held from September 11-13. Tickets are on sale now.

2026 Finals battle: James Golding vs Jack Le Brocq

Gap to bubble