White defends points lead
19/4/2004 13:57 (Press Release) -
Konica Minolta V8 Supercar Series leader Matthew White took another step towards securing the title after qualifying third at Winton Motor Raceway today.
Sporting new livery on his Gulf Western Oil/Jayco Caravans Falcon AU, White has left other title contenders in his wake.
The Melbourne based driver is now poised to strike and extend his championship lead.
He will start from the second row, behind Andrew Jones who has failed to finish two races earlier in the series and Steve Owen who is contesting his first round this year as a last minute inclusion in the Holden Young Lions team.
White’s main rivals failed to match his qualifying speed and he is now ideally positioned to grab another haul of points tomorrow.
Super Cheap Auto Racing’s Luke Youlden is second in the series and will start from sixth, while third placed Mark Porter will start from fifth.
In a series where the points structure rewards consistency, the Gulf Western Falcon has an enviable finishing record.
White leapt to the defence of the points system after it was called into question at the post qualifying media conference.
“You have to look at what this series is. The last two rounds I haven’t made any stupid moves on the track that jeopardise or damage my car so that I don’t finish the race. We’ve got to have good pace. We finished second in the championship last year,” White said.
And there is still more pace left in the Falcon yet according to White. “We made a bit of a wrong call when we came in for tyres half way through qualifying.”
A sway bar adjustment failed to have the desired effect, but White was still able to improve on his earlier times, though not enough to secure a front row start.
Dean Wanless qualified the second Matthew White Racing car twenty-second. The newcomer to the series was satisfied with his debut performance at the North East Victorian circuit.
“I’ve had a test day here with the team but this is my first race here so I suppose I have to be reasonably happy,” Wanless said.
Wanless failed to make the most of the fresh rubber when a slight off cost him dearly as he was on a flying lap late in qualifying.
The first of three Konica Minolta series races gets underway at Winton tomorrow at 11.25.
Release Date: 17/04/2004
Matthew White Racing
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