JAMES Golding says time away from Supercars to "recharge" has him feeling better than ever ahead of next month's season opener in Newcastle.
The 27-year-old driver, part of PremiAir Racing, admits plenty has changed since he last competed on the same street circuit in 2019 and hopes to post strong results throughout the upcoming campaign.
Golding, along with Shell V-Power Racing member Anton De Pasquale, were in Newcastle on Friday ahead of a Supercars community event and just three weeks out from the first round (March 10-12).
"I've had a fair improvement in my driving since I last raced here [in Newcastle over three years ago]," Golding told the Newcastle Herald.
"I spent time away from Supercars when the team I raced with, Garry Rogers Motorsport, pulled out [prior to 2020 season] and it kind of gave me the opportunity to recharge and refocus. I got a good taste for it and got my eye back in last year [mid-season call up in 2022], but now I'm really ready to knuckle down and start progressing to the front of the grid."
Golding, who made his Supercars debut in 2016, missed the maiden Newcastle 500 in 2017 but drove the Hunter event in both 2018 and 2019. He twice finished 20th across four races.
Newcastle returns to the Supercars schedule in 2023 following a COVID hiatus between 2020 and 2022, however, swapping spots on the calendar to start rather than end proceedings like previous editions.
Golding wants to put his best foot forward from the opening round, keeping busy on the track over the next few weeks via the S5000 (Tasmania, February 24-26) and Australian Karting Championships (South Australia, March 3-5).
"It's pretty busy for me between now and round one," he said.
"I've got a few races outside Supercars to help keep sharp, plus a couple of testing days. Come Newcastle I certainly won't be blowing the cobwebs out, I should be fairly in tune and hoping to do a good job."
De Pasquale, also 27, came fourth overall in the Supercars championship for 2022 and has posted seven career wins since making the step up to the top level five years ago.
He drove the Newcastle 500 in both 2018 and 2019, bookending his four races with 11th and retired.
This year sees the introduction of Gen 3 car regulations across the field with De Pasquale saying "hopefully we nail it straight out of the box, but if we don't we'll be there at some point".
A Supercars community event will take place at Newcastle's Civic Park on Saturday (10am to 2pm) with Golding and De Pasquale among nine drivers attending.
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