![\"PremiAir](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Golding-Bathurst-1000.jpg\")
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tJames Golding leads late in the Great Race. Image: Supplied<\/p>\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tJames Golding leads late in the Great Race. Image: Supplied<\/p>\n
On one hand it was a breakout day for the squad as James Golding starred on Supercars\u2019 biggest stage with a drive that netted the team\u2019s second ever podium.<\/p>\n
But then there was the pain of leading across the line only to be demoted to third by a time penalty, and the fact Golding is leaving at the end of the season.<\/p>\n
A disappointing first half of the year for the Gold Coast team sparked suggestions that big changes were on the cards for 2026, with Jayden Ojeda and Declan Fraser both linked to seats.<\/a><\/p>\n Xiberras, though, was adamant he would not make a final call on his line-up until after Bathurst \u2013 in the lead-up to which Golding signed on with the Blanchard Racing Team.<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cBy the end of the year, he will have been with me for three and a half years. We\u2019ve grown a lot,\u201d Xiberras told Speedcafe of Golding, whose career was rescued by the team in mid-2022.<\/p>\n \u201cYou know, it is disappointing he\u2019s moving on. I said to James that I\u2019d make a decision after Bathurst. I understand his point of view, he wants to secure his future.<\/p>\n \u201cAll I can do is wish him well. He\u2019s a great young man, he\u2019s got an awesome family. I\u2019ve really enjoyed it. Things happen for a reason. I put it down to that.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ll end up with a replacement driver, and hopefully, it\u2019ll work good for us, and we\u2019ll charge on.\u201d<\/p>\n Golding describes \u2018empty feeling\u2019 of losing Bathurst win<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n Speaking only hours after the finish, Xiberras also took a balanced view of a dramatic race and the clash with Erebus Motorsport\u2019s Cooper Murray that cost a potential victory.<\/p>\n \u201cCrossing the line first at Bathurst, knowing that you didn\u2019t win, it\u2019s a pretty bittersweet sort of a feeling to be up front,\u201d Xiberras said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ll argue that we believe the move was on and Cooper turned into us. They\u2019ll argue that wasn\u2019t on and we shouldn\u2019t have [made the move].<\/p>\n \u201cBut that\u2019s racing and if there\u2019s a hole there and you don\u2019t go for it, well then you should give up and go play golf or collect stamps or do something else.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was still nice to finish on the podium. If I look back to the beginning of the weekend, a podium wasn\u2019t even on the agenda for us. P5 and better was going to be an awesome result.<\/p>\n \u201cSo, to finish third and get a podium, I should be very happy, which I am, but you just think, what if? Was it the one that got away?\u201d<\/p>\n