Caruso and Fiore put Nissan back on the podium at the Gold Coast

SURFERS PARADISE, Australia – Michael Caruso and Dean Fiore have finished the endurance season in fine style, taking third place at the Castrol EDGE Gold Coast 600.

After qualifying just outside the top 10, Fiore drove the #36 Norton Nissan Altima into a competitive position before Caruso picked his way up to third place.

Caruso put pressure on Scott McLaughlin for second, but lacked the outright speed to mount a passing move.

The podium result is Caruso's second for the year after finishing third overall at the non-championship Australian Grand Prix event in March.

It also leaps Caruso into 10th place in the championship fight with two events remaining.

And to top off a strong day, the podium is a V8 Supercars first for Dean Fiore, who celebrated his 150th race start today.

The next-best Nissan was Rick Kelly and David Russell, who had to dig deep in their Jack Daniel's Altima.

An early race pit stop put the pair a lap behind the leaders, but smart strategy and driving saw the duo climb back into 10th place.

For the other two Nissans, it was a day to forget.

Todd Kelly and Alex Buncombe finished 20th after an extended pit service to repair the front of the car after early race contact.

For James Moffat and Taz Douglas, their race ended in significant damage when Moffat clipped the inside wall at Turn 11 and heavily clouted the outside wall.

Moffat emerged from the incident with no injuries.

The next event on the V8 Supercars Championship will be held at Phillip Island on November 14-16

Michael Caruso, #36 Norton Nissan Altima

"It's great to get my second podium of the year – everyone forgets about the (non-championship) Grand Prix!" said Michael Caruso.

"We've had some strong results this year and we've been gradually been improving the car.

"To come here this weekend, it's great to finish with a trophy.

"Everyone in the team is working hard and it shows, because we're progressing. It's payback for everyone at the team, but particularly the guys who work on my car.

"Scott (McLaughlin) was definitely making his car very wide and hard to pass. His car has some good straight line speed, but we understand that and that's what we're working very hard on at the team."

Dean Fiore, #36 Norton Nissan Altima

"This feels pretty good," said Dean Fiore.

"Caruso's form going into the enduros was pretty good, so I knew we had a good chance of getting a podium at some point.

"It's been great to work with Michael and his engineer (Steven Todkill). They've got a special working relationship, they've been working together a long time and they definitely know how to dial a car in."

Rick Kelly, #15 Jack Daniel's Nissan Altima:

"We actually went a lap down there, and we were last for a long while," said Rick Kelly.

"The team did a really great job to get us back there, after that unfortunate stop at the start where we stacked and lost time.

"The car was pretty good, I'm so happy with our progress, to have those mistakes and get ourselves back into the top ten is encouraging.

"I'm just stoked for Michael (Caruso), he just wanted a surfboard so bad, more than anything in the world!

"So for him and the guys in the Norton garage it's great, and we need to improve a little bit on the Jack Daniel's side to catch them.

"It's a really good healthy rivalry, which is what we need.

"So Nissan on the podium again, two rounds in a row, it's what we are after."

David Russell, #15 Jack Daniel's Nissan Altima:

"To be honest, at the start of the race, some of the guys were driving quite erratically, and we just had to be patient for some of those positions to come to us," said David Russell.

"There was no point in getting damage early, there was a fair concertina effect into some of the corners with some slower cars ahead on the road.

"We were patient, we had a good pitstop, and that got me clean air, and then I was really quick.

"As soon I got out on my own to do some laps, it was fantastic, we had really good pace.

"I handed over to Rick, and he did a fantastic job to bring it home.

"Obviously to finish ninth it was a great comeback, that's for sure."

Todd Kelly, #7 Jack Daniel's Nissan Altima:

"After the pace in yesterday's race on extremely old tyres, I was quite looking forward to today, especially after qualifying not too badly," said Todd Kelly.

"Unfortunately, in Alex's stint I think he might have been hit from behind, which damaged the front bar and bent the front right down, which was the end of our day.

"We had to come in to repair that, and once you go a lap down, you just spend the whole time on such a short lap letting people past.

"Another one has gotten away, it had the potential to be a decent day for us."

Alex Buncombe, #7 Jack Daniel's Nissan Altima:

"It's a shame we couldn't have had a bit better result to end on in the Enduro Cup," said Alex Buncombe.

"We did what we could, but it was always going to be tough, starting down the grid here is a minefield.

"We got hit all to hell is the only way to describe it, I got hit up the back pretty hard which pushed me into the car in front, which damaged our front bumper, which unfortunately ended our run.

"We had to box to fix it, it had really bad understeer, because it had no aero on the front at all, and to get it fixed cost us five or six laps.

"Not the end result we wanted, but congratulations to car 36, who put it up on the podium.

"It's been a great overall experience, and I hope to back next year."

James Moffat, #360 Norton Nissan Altima

"It was a big hit. I clipped the inside wall and it just fired me into the fence," said James Moffat.

"Again, we struggled for speed. We were better than yesterday, but we still didn't have the car that we needed to challenge for a podium like Michael.

"I feel bad for the guys – they've got a big job to repair our car, but I have no doubt it will be nice and straight for Phillip Island."

Taz Douglas, #360 Norton Nissan Altima

"It was a disappointing way to end our endurance campaign," said Taz Douglas.

"We didn't really have the pace all weekend. We were out there fighting it most of the time and clearly it showed with what happened in the race.

"We definitely had the high at Bathurst, but James did a terrific job today – it's just a shame that we ended up with a damaged car.

"It's great for the team to have Caruso and Fiore on the podium, not just for those guys but for the entire Nissan Motorsport team."

RESULTS: Race 32

1. Jamie Whincup/Paul Dumbrell
2. Scott McLaughlin/Alex Premat
3. Michael Caruso/Dean Fiore (#36 Norton Nissan Altima)
4. Tim Slade/Tony D'Alberto
5. Shane Van Gisbergen/Jono Webb
6. David Reynolds/Dean Canto
7. Fabian Coulthard/Luke Youlden
8. Russell Ingall/Tim Blanchard
9. Rick Kelly/David Russell (#15 Jack Daniel's Nissan Altima)
10. Nick Percat/Oliver Gavin

20. Todd Kelly/Alex Buncombe (#7 Jack Daniel's Nissan Altima)
DNF James Moffat/Taz Douglas (#360 Norton Nissan Altima)

CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS
Driver's Standings after Race 32
1. Jamie Whincup- 2835 points
2. Mark Winterbottom- 2433
3. Shane Van Gisbergen- 2357
4. Craig Lowndes- 2331
5. Fabian Coulthard- 2192
6. Chaz Mostert- 2147
7. James Courtney- 2135
8. Scott McLaughlin- 2019
9. Garth Tander- 1806
10. Michael Caruso- 1688 (#36 Norton Nissan Altima)
13. Rick Kelly- 1577 (#15 Jack Daniel's Nissan Altima)
15. James Moffat- 1526 (#360 Norton Nissan Altima)
23. Todd Kelly- 1076 (#7 Jack Daniel's Nissan Altima)

# # #