diff --git a/.github/workflows/go-ci.yml b/.github/workflows/go-ci.yml
index a985acd2..9fd7e9d0 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/go-ci.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/go-ci.yml
@@ -1,8 +1,9 @@
 # Pre-merge gates for the OpenWatch Go tree (repo root).
 #
 # Runs: make vet, make lint (staticcheck + gosec + ...), make vuln
-# (govulncheck), make test-race (data races + full integration suite
-# against a Postgres service container), and `specter sync` (spec
+# (govulncheck), a single `go test -race -json` run (data races + full
+# integration suite against a Postgres service container, AND the JSON
+# specter ingests — one pass, not two), and `specter sync` (spec
 # validation + strict AC coverage).
 #
 # Spec: specs/release/ci-gates.spec.yaml.
@@ -97,15 +98,40 @@ jobs:
           cache: true
           cache-dependency-path: go.sum
 
+      # Cache the from-source golangci-lint binary so we don't rebuild it
+      # (~1-3 min) on every run. Keyed on the lint version + Go toolchain:
+      # the binary MUST match the runner's Go (the prebuilt v1.64.8 was
+      # built with Go 1.24 and refuses Go 1.25+ configs), so a toolchain
+      # bump invalidates the cache and triggers a fresh build.
+      - name: Cache golangci-lint binary
+        if: steps.paths.outputs.go == 'true'
+        id: cache-golangci-bin
+        uses: actions/cache@v4
+        with:
+          path: ~/go/bin/golangci-lint
+          key: golangci-bin-v1.64.8-go1.26.4-${{ runner.os }}
+
       - name: Set up golangci-lint
+        if: steps.paths.outputs.go == 'true' && steps.cache-golangci-bin.outputs.cache-hit != 'true'
+        # Build from source against the runner's Go toolchain (see cache
+        # key rationale above). Only runs on a cache miss.
+        run: go install github.com/golangci/golangci-lint/cmd/golangci-lint@v1.64.8
+
+      # Cache golangci-lint's own analysis cache so `make lint` reuses
+      # prior results and only re-lints changed packages. restore-keys
+      # falls back to the newest partial cache when no exact hit.
+      - name: Cache golangci-lint analysis cache
         if: steps.paths.outputs.go == 'true'
-        # Build from source against the runner's Go toolchain. The
-        # prebuilt v1.64.8 binary was compiled with Go 1.24, which
-        # refuses to load configs targeting Go 1.25. Building from
-        # source gets us a binary matched to the runner's toolchain.
-        run: |
-          go install github.com/golangci/golangci-lint/cmd/golangci-lint@v1.64.8
-          golangci-lint --version
+        uses: actions/cache@v4
+        with:
+          path: ~/.cache/golangci-lint
+          key: golangci-cache-${{ runner.os }}-${{ hashFiles('**/*.go') }}
+          restore-keys: |
+            golangci-cache-${{ runner.os }}-
+
+      - name: golangci-lint version
+        if: steps.paths.outputs.go == 'true'
+        run: golangci-lint --version
 
       - name: Set up specter
         if: steps.paths.outputs.go == 'true'
@@ -151,10 +177,6 @@ jobs:
         if: steps.paths.outputs.go == 'true'
         run: make vuln
 
-      - name: make test-race
-        if: steps.paths.outputs.go == 'true'
-        run: make test-race
-
       # Annotation hygiene: cross-reference every test's @spec / @ac
       # annotation against the spec registry and fail on a dangling spec
       # ref, unknown AC id, malformed AC id, or unreachable annotation
@@ -174,14 +196,19 @@ jobs:
             exit 1
           fi
 
-      # Spec coverage gate. Split into discrete steps so a failure
-      # attributes to the actual command (go test vs. ingest vs. sync)
-      # instead of getting hidden behind a single bundled step.
-      - name: go test (json) for specter ingest
+      # Single full-suite run that BOTH detects data races and emits the
+      # JSON specter ingests — replacing the previous two end-to-end passes
+      # (`make test-race` + a separate non-race `go test -json`), which ran
+      # the whole serial DB-bound suite twice. Coverage is unaffected: the
+      # only `//go:build !race` test file holds constants (with a `race`
+      # twin), so every test still compiles+runs under -race, and the perf
+      # budgets are non-gating (internal/perftest.Budgetf). Timeout raised
+      # to 600s because race instrumentation slows the hot DB packages.
+      - name: go test (race + json) for specter ingest
         if: steps.paths.outputs.go == 'true'
         run: |
           set +e
-          go test -json -timeout 360s -p 1 ./... > /tmp/go-test.json
+          go test -race -json -timeout 600s -p 1 ./... > /tmp/go-test.json
           EXIT=$?
           if [ "$EXIT" -ne 0 ]; then
             echo "::group::Failed tests"
diff --git a/packaging/tests/ci_gates_test.go b/packaging/tests/ci_gates_test.go
index b8834e5c..24bb9dae 100644
--- a/packaging/tests/ci_gates_test.go
+++ b/packaging/tests/ci_gates_test.go
@@ -176,8 +176,11 @@ func TestCIGates_WorkflowHasPostgresService(t *testing.T) {
 }
 
 // @ac AC-09
-// AC-09: workflow runs each gate as its own step (vet, lint, vuln,
-// test-race, specter sync).
+// AC-09: workflow runs each gate as its own step (vet, lint, vuln, the
+// race+JSON test run, specter sync). Race detection and the specter-ingest
+// JSON are produced by a single `go test -race -json` step (replacing the
+// former separate `make test-race` + non-race json passes), so the gate is
+// the presence of `-race` AND `-json` on the test run, not `make test-race`.
 func TestCIGates_WorkflowRunsAllGates(t *testing.T) {
 	t.Run("release-ci-gates/AC-09", func(t *testing.T) {
 		wf := readAppFile(t, ".github/workflows/go-ci.yml")
@@ -185,7 +188,6 @@ func TestCIGates_WorkflowRunsAllGates(t *testing.T) {
 			"make vet",
 			"make lint",
 			"make vuln",
-			"make test-race",
 			"specter sync",
 		}
 		for _, g := range gates {
@@ -193,6 +195,11 @@ func TestCIGates_WorkflowRunsAllGates(t *testing.T) {
 				t.Errorf("workflow missing step that runs %q", g)
 			}
 		}
+		// The single race+coverage run must still detect data races AND
+		// emit JSON for specter ingest.
+		if !strings.Contains(wf, "go test -race") || !strings.Contains(wf, "-json") {
+			t.Error("workflow missing the race+JSON test run (`go test -race ... -json`) — race detection must still gate")
+		}
 	})
 }
 
diff --git a/specs/release/ci-gates.spec.yaml b/specs/release/ci-gates.spec.yaml
index 1c7f8660..2bc84974 100644
--- a/specs/release/ci-gates.spec.yaml
+++ b/specs/release/ci-gates.spec.yaml
@@ -87,7 +87,7 @@ spec:
       description: make help lists every gate target (vet, lint, vuln, test-race, check) with one-line descriptions so contributors discover them without reading the Makefile.
       priority: high
     - id: AC-07
-      description: .github/workflows/go-ci.yml exists, triggers on every PR/push to main without a paths filter, references the Go source paths (cmd/, internal/, ...) in a path-detection step, and gates the heavy gate steps (Go setup, lint, vuln, test-race, specter) on that step so non-Go PRs short-circuit to success while still reporting the required "Quality + security gates" status check.
+      description: .github/workflows/go-ci.yml exists, triggers on every PR/push to main without a paths filter, references the Go source paths (cmd/, internal/, ...) in a path-detection step, and gates the heavy gate steps (Go setup, lint, vuln, the race+coverage test run, specter) on that step so non-Go PRs short-circuit to success while still reporting the required "Quality + security gates" status check.
       priority: critical
       references_constraints: [C-06]
     - id: AC-08
@@ -95,7 +95,7 @@ spec:
       priority: critical
       references_constraints: [C-06]
     - id: AC-09
-      description: The workflow executes (in order) make vet, make lint, make vuln, make test-race, and specter sync — each as its own step so a failure pinpoints which gate broke.
+      description: The workflow executes (in order) make vet, make lint, make vuln, a single race-detector + JSON test run (`go test -race -json`, which both detects data races and feeds specter ingest — replacing the former separate `make test-race` + non-race json passes), and specter sync — each as its own step so a failure pinpoints which gate broke.
       priority: critical
       references_constraints: [C-06]
     - id: AC-10