As his Subway Commodore bounced off a kerb and slammed into a tyre bundle before spinning out of control, James Golding was forced to let go of the steering wheel and brace for impact.
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The Gold Coast 500 was halted in dramatic fashion after a huge 10-car pileup caused drivers to rush to help Macauley Jones whose car had caught fire. As his Subway Commodore bounced off a kerb and slammed into a tyre bundle before spinning out of control, James Golding was forced to let go of the steering wheel and brace for impact. As a number of vehicles collided with Golding’s car, he was seen crossing his arms over his chest and facing the wrong way. Nick Percat stated that he did everything he could to avoid colliding with Golding’s driver’s side door. The shocking collision occurred in the opening laps of race two, leaving many rivals with nowhere to go.
The impact of Golding with the tyre bundle pushed the barrier into Thomas Randle, and from there drivers arrived one by one. Macauley Jones’ car caught fire as he quickly exited the vehicle, and Broc Feeney and Golding rushed to his aid. James Courtney was able to pull up as he collided with Golding, but he was severely injured from behind. “I think that’s why we as drivers lobby so hard to try (and) get rid of tyre bundles as I think that’s what caused it all,” Courtney said.
Below is a Fox Motorsport coverage of the incident at Gold Coast 500
“I tried to stop and wasn’t too bad with the initial impact but just got cleaned up from the rear. It’s hugely disappointing,” he added.
Golding and Jones were taken for medical examinations, and both were shaken but passed their tests. Shane van Gisbergen, who started on pole, avoided the drama by staying in second place behind race leader Will Davison. The Kiwi won his 20th race of the season to clinch the 2022 Supercars championship on the Gold Coast. Van Gisbergen started from the front row, and after challenging pole sitter David Reynolds early on, he got down the inside and never looked back for his 11th victory in 13 races. The victory ended the championship with one round remaining and marked van Gisbergen’s 165th podium finish.
