The chase is on for White
19/4/2004 14:14 (Press Release) -
A lap one incident in the second of three races in the Konica Minolta series cost Matthew White the championship lead at Winton Motor Raceway today.
Despite the setback, the Gulf Western Oil/Jayco Caravans driver is more determined than ever to return to the top of the table ahead of Super Cheap Racing’s Luke Youlden.
“There’s three rounds to go, it’s disappointing, but it gives us more focus,” White said.
The race two incident occurred after White had made a blinding start.
“I made it to turn three when a back marker came through at warp 10. I don’t think he even knew I was there,” a devastated White said.
But when the time came to redeem himself from what appeared a desperate situation, White made every post a winner with a brilliant drive in race three. Starting from nineteenth, White carved his way through the field to finish fifth.
"I had a good run but it took a bit to get past Marcus Zukanovic. He seemed to have a pretty wide Ford,” White commented.
While still coming to terms with the disappointment of the race two DNF, questioned the value of reverse grid races.
“They impact the races and the outcomes too much. It’s alright when you’re racing people that race well, but that incident has shown it’s easy to get taken out by someone who’s inexperienced,” White stated.
There is no doubt the front end damage has cost the Falcon pilot the title lead.
“It’s had a pretty severe impact on my year. There are people all up and down the pits who are trying to get rid of them (reverse grid races) because there’s just crashes, crashes, crashes. I must say that after this weekend I tend to agree with them,” White said.
Despite a brave attempt by the Gulf Western Oils/Jayco Caravans team to get White’s AU Falcon back into the race, he was unable to complete enough of the 14-lap event to be classified as a finisher.
The solid drive in race three saw White snare 114 points for the weekend and sees him second, just 34 points in arrears of Youlden in the series.
Meanwhile Dean Wanless struggled in the Wastecorp backed Matthew White Racing Commodore VX.
“The car lost second gear. I had to hold the car in second throughout the entire race,” Wanless stated.
White will have his chance to grab back the series lead at round four at Eastern Creek on May 30.
Release Date: 18/04/2004
Matthew White Motorsport
|
|
