James Courtney and Jack Perkins have capped off JC’s 400th race celebrations in fantastic fashion, finishing the first 300km race at the Gold Coast 600 in third spot.

Scott Pye and Warren Luff battled hard, moving forward six places in the race to finish 13th. A lack of clear air hampered their chances of moving any further up.

The day started with mixed emotions. JC was through to the shootout after setting the fifth fastest time in qualifying, but Scott couldn’t find the drive required on the new tyre, qualifying in 19th.

In the shootout, a kerb strike over the back chicane meant JC wouldn’t set a time, and would start the race from 10th.

Jack and Luffy started behind the wheel of their respective cars, in what was a nose to tail opening segment. Jack couldn’t get past the #6 car, while Luffy was stuck in a traffic jam that resembled peak hour in Melbourne.

A safety car on lap 23 meant that the co-drivers would have to stay in for longer than their minimum of 34 laps, which was when the first stop was planned.

Both cars did a good job to move forward, before stopping on lap 56 and 57 respectively to hand over to JC and Scott.

The stops were very early, as the team backed their fuel economy in, and undercut the cars in front.

Car 25 popped out in second position, and Scott 13th, but both had very long stints ahead of them.

JC fought tooth and nail to keep Lowndes behind, who was breathing down his neck for what felt like an hour, but the tyre life of the extra laps proved the difference in the final kilometres. He was still able to hold Reynolds off, and secure a podium finish.

A cool suit failure in humid conditions definitely didn’t make Scott’s life easy, but he did extremely well to hold off Whincup for the last stint. A better qualifying tomorrow will put that car right back in the hunt.

Overall, it was a positive day. We take momentum into Sunday, the last endurance race of the season. Bring it on.

James Courtney

“Jack and I were talking before the event and said it would be pretty special to get a podium in my 400th race, so it’s fantastic.

“Jack did a ripping job to hand the car over to me where it was. I had the easy bit, I just couldn’t keep Lowndesy behind me at the end, so I let him down a little bit.

“Great job by all the team today, finally a reward for all the speed we’ve shown over the last few months.

“We will be going for a couple better tomorrow.”

Jack Perkins

“Great to be back on the podium, and a big thanks to all the guys and girls at Mobil 1 Boost Mobile Racing.

“The car speed was really good for me today, we just didn’t get to show it as much as we’d like early.

‘It was a great strategy call from the guys, and JC did a great job to bring it home at the end there.

“It’s really special to do it on the day we celebrate JC’s milestone. I’m proud of him.

“Time to go again tomorrow!”

Scott Pye

“It was a tough old day out there in the end, especially with no cool suit.

“No clear air just killed us today.

“The balance on the green tyre just wasn’t quite there this morning in qualifying which put us back in the pack, but the race car felt pretty good. Holding off Jamie at the end there showed that.

“We will tune it up overnight and look to move a lot higher up the grid in qualifying.

“Congrats to JC and Jack on the podium.”

Warren Luff

“Traffic was pretty bad today! We just couldn’t get out and show what the car could do. It was nose to tail all afternoon.

“The race package felt good, so we need to move up in qualifying. That’ll make the afternoon a lot easier.

“Well done to the team on the podium, it was a great result.”