Nulon Racing set to deliver on Xiberras' goal

Heading into the 2023 season, Nulon Racing team owner Peter Xiberras had set his sights on moving up at least one garage in the pecking order, having ended 2022 in 10th.

With two rounds remaining, Nulon Racing is set to move up three, blowing Xiberras’ goal out of the water.

The Arundel-based team was a standout at the Repco Bathurst 1000, with James Golding stunning to second in qualifying and fourth in the Shootout, before finishing 10th.

It marked the team’s best Bathurst finish, improving on Golding’s 12th in 2022. Critically, thanks to problems for their rivals, both Golding and Tim Slade are still within reach of a top 10 championship position.

With the Gold Coast and Adelaide rounds remaining, Slade is 165 points behind Bryce Fullwood, with Golding 39 points behind his veteran teammate.

For now, the team is in position to bring home seventh in the teams’ standings, beating the likes of 2023 race winners Team 18 and Matt Stone Racing, and Ford squad Penrite Racing.

Now seventh, Nulon Racing is still 288 points behind Tickford Racing, but leads a close pack of teams fighting over pit lane real estate with four races remaining.

Team 18 is just 21 points behind Xiberras’ squad, with Penrite Racing a further 29 points down. MSR, meanwhile, is 99 points behind Penrite Racing.

All told, Nulon Racing, Team 18, Penrith Racing and MSR are covered by 139 points with a maximum of 1152 points still to win this season — and Xiberras wants his squad to be first to the flag.

Xiberras is also readying for the first round of the NDRC Top Fuel Championship at the new dragway at The Bend on October 21-22, a week before the Supercars round on the Gold Coast.

“The cars are definitely starting to show some speed,” Xiberras told the Schick Cool Down Lap podcast.

“Hopefully that will carry on to the next round. The goal for for us is to finish the season on a high.

“You’ve got to look at the positives… we’ve now jumped to seventh place in the [teams’] championship.

“My goal this year was to move up at least one garage spot, so we’ve moved up three. Awesome result, hopefully we can move up another one.”

Supercars will return to the track at the Boost Mobile Gold Coast 500 on October 27-29.