WAVES OF HIGHS AND LOWS ON SUNDAY AT THE GOLD COAST

RACE REPORT

Drivers faced the arduous task of backing up for another 250km race in difficult conditions under the intense Gold Coast sun.

Straight off the bat Reynolds continued his solid display of speed going third fastest in qualifying on his way to another top 10 shootout appearance, while Holdsworth managed P13 on the grid.

When race 32 got underway all hell broke loose on lap 4, after James Golding launched over a tyre bundle and into the fence at the exit of the beachside chicane, causing half the field to be involved in a pile up.

Holdsworth was left with nowhere to go as the cars ahead of him blocked the circuit, causing a colossal crash for car 10, bringing his day came to an abrupt ending and a red flag for Race 32.

When the race got underway again, Reynolds was left to fly the flag for Penrite Racing in P6 while he battled hard with Erebus Motorsport’s Brodie Kostecki.

Sporting some battle scars from testing the limits of the concrete-lined circuit, Reynolds pitted on lap 33, then again on lap 52, where his race developed into a strategy battle with Tickford’s Cam Waters for a prized podium surfboard.

The first sighting this weekend of the safety car came on lap 72, and when racing resumed Reynolds locked horns with Will Davison for 3rd place in a fight to the finish line.

Car 26 pushed hard all the way to the chequered flag but fell short of a podium, Reynolds avoiding any damage as he capped off a stellar Gold Coast 500 weekend In P4.

Innocent victim Holdsworth surveys the damage to his car

DRIVER COMMENTS

Reynolds said: “I’m very happy with the day, qualifying was very good with P3 but I made a small mistake in the shootout at the hairpin which put me back to P7. Getting a surfboard was going to be a lot harder from there.”

“Our race was the best we could have done based on our car pace, the heat and how hard it is to pass here. The crew did an awesome job on strategy to get me up to P4.

“I tried my best to pass Davison after the safety car in the final laps for the podium, but my tyres heated up behind him and I couldn’t get any closer.

“Overall, it’s been a great weekend and I’m glad I could repay the car 26 crew for their hard work in the last three weeks after Bathurst.”

Holdsworth said: “It’s a sad end to our weekend. It was unfortunate to get caught up in someone else incident so early in the race. The previous two laps the group in front were driving erratic so I could it brewing, but when it did the track was blocked and it’s done a fair bit of damage to our car.

“We’ll have it back and ready to go at Adelaide for my final full-time Supercars round.”

RESULTS 

Race 32

Reynolds: P4

Holdsworth: DNF

TOP 10 SHOOTOUT

Reynolds: P7

QUALIFYING

Reynolds: P3

Holdsworth: P13

CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS

Reynolds: P7

Holdsworth: P12

Teams championship: P5/13

The final event of the Repco Supercars Championship is the Adelaide 500 on December 1-4.