Mysterious start issues condemn Cameron to harsh Finals reality

Aaron Cameron's 2026 season has been a rollercoaster ride worthy of a headline Disneyland attraction.

The qualifying form of both Cameron and new Blanchard Racing Team teammate James Golding has been one of the feel-good stories of the season to date, sitting fourth and sixth in the field respectively on qualifying average.

However, whilst Golding has been able to covert into two podiums, a further seven top 10 finishes, and eighth in points, just about everything that can go wrong has gone wrong after the lights go out for Cameron.

That was no different in Christchurch, where his qualifying form was once again superb, and he secured his second top 10 finish of the year.

However, that was tempered by two bouts of lap 1 damage, including race-ending damage on Sunday and falling victim to Friday's Safety Car confusion, and a penalty in the second race on Saturday.

When asked that there was a silver lining on the Equip Super Cool Down Lap podcast, Cameron joked: “Is there?

“Qualifying’s good. I think I heard Garth [Tander] on the telecast say, ‘Aaron Cameron can qualify a Supercar, just can’t really race one.'"

Cameron's problems across the races in Christchurch all started right from the very start, with the LIQUI MOLY BLAHST Ford struggling to get away off the line throughout the weekend.

It paled in comparison to the first race of the season, when Cameron brained Golding off the front row to comfortably lead the way in the opening race of the year in Sydney.

The poor starts were a mystery to the second year driver: “Nothing really went right in the races, all three starts were incredibly bad, lots of wheel-spin, still trying to understand why that is.

“Lots of research by myself to make sure next round in Tassie our starts aren’t shit.

“The speed’s still there, James is doing a great job in the other car getting the results. I need to start lifting my game to get results for the team, we can be a lot further up in the teams’ championship.”

Cameron's poor start in Race 13 saw him drop back to the tail end of the midfield, which put him right in the firing line of the concertina that wiped both himself and Rylan Gray out.

The #3 Ford was on the outside of Turn 8 as Gray speared into the back of Jackson Walls, ultimately spearing both into the path of the hapless Cameron, who was done for the day with a busted radiator. Gray was handed a points penalty for his troubles.

For Cameron, it was the latest tough pill to swallow in what has been a frustrating season to date for the former Super2 runner-up.

“I saw them shunting on the inside, I was trying to mind my own business on the left-hand side,” Cameron recounted.

“I saw Rylan coming across, hit the brakes, and I think it was Davey [Reynolds] or someone else hit me from behind, hit me into Rylan.

“I thought I was home free, and then bang, Jackson Walls out of nowhere. I tried to turn for the next corner, and she broke.”

Cameron now sits 20th in the standings, but more alarmingly is 305 points away from breaking into the Finals bubble, something which Golding sits inside with an 84-point cushion.