Golding sets smashing pace in S5000
James Golding overcame limited laps and adverse weather conditions to set a new S5000 benchmark around The Mountain last weekend.
Although the S5000’s were not permitted to race, the open-wheel racer was still seen at the Supercheap Auto Bathurst International performing demonstration laps with current PremiAir Racing Supercars driver James Golding at the wheel of a Team Valvoline GRM entry.
He was accompanied by Vera Motorsport’s Cooper Webster during the demonstration runs which were held throughout the weekend.
They were completed in unrestricted form and Golding put the foot down, pushing the limits of the revered and respected 6.213km of tarmac in Bathurst like few ever have before.
Golding’s best lap was a 1:59.2640 in the final run on Sunday morning, which edged out Christopher Mies’ current record-setting time set in a de-restricted Audi GT3 by just of a second.
But due to the German GT ace’s lap being set under race conditions in 2018, his 1m59.2910s still remains the outright lap record of Mount Panorama.
However, the GRM driver still raised plenty of eyebrows going six tenths faster than the existing S5000 lap record at Mount Panorama set late last year.
James Golding charges up towards Griffins Bend at Bathurst last weekend. Image: Supplied
Golding said to set such a fast time at the famous track was a cool feeling.
“It was a pretty special thing to do,” he said.
“I only just got it (the record) by a tenth, but we only had three flying laps so there’s definitely more time to come out of it.
“These are the fastest cars in Australia and we wanted to try and get the record at the best track in Australia, and it’s pretty cool to have been able to do that.
“The car was fantastic and an improvement from when we raced here in 2021; it felt great and was exciting to drive around here.”
Golding achieved the feat on Sunday morning just prior to the heavy downpour which delayed racing and cancelled the second TCR Australia race of the weekend.
Light rain even began falling as Golding approached the finish line with both driver and team both believing more time could have been found in ideal track conditions, but that opportunity never came due to time constraints.
Despite not quite matching Jenson Button’s unofficial lap record of an eye-popping 1:48.8s set in 2011 onboard a MP4-23 used in Lewis Hamilton’s championship winning season of 2008, Golding has cemented his name in the Bathurst S5000 history books.
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