Youlden second in hard fought battle to the end
5/9/2004 23:08 (Press Release) -
After one of the toughest battles of the year, Super Cheap Auto Racing’s Luke Youlden has finished second in the 2004 Konica Minolta V8 Supercar Championship despite scoring equal points to eventual champion, Andrew Jones.
Prior to this afternoon’s finale, Youlden had a two point lead over Jones and at the end of the 28 lap race the pair both had 945 championship points. Jones was awarded the series crown based on the number of races he has won throughout the six round competition.
“The guys at Super Cheap Auto Racing have worked really hard and this weekend we came out firing and proved what we can be competitive in a great car,” Youlden said.
“Looking back over the year, I am really happy with the way I drove and to be second at the end of competition and to say we weren’t beaten by Andrew [Jones] in the series point score is something I am proud of.”
Super Cheap Auto Racing Team Manager, John McLean is calling for a review of the rules regarding the inclusion of drivers in the final round of the series that are not in contention of winning the championship.
“[Greg] Ritter being aloud to run in the final round of the championship caused Super Cheap Auto Racing to lose two championship points, which could have seen Luke [Youlden] win the series,” McLean said.
“Maybe in the future teams wishing to enter a driver in the final event should still be allowed to compete but eliminated from series point score for the round.”
McLean also noted the distinct step up of competition in the 2004 Konica Minolta V8 Supercar Championship with teams needing to produce an aggressive car in order to be in with a chance of winning the series.
“You need an extremely good car to win this series. The bar has once again been lifted and I am proud that Super Cheap Auto Racing has been instrumental in the rising of this standard throughout the year,” McLean said.
“If you look at it in perspective, the Super Cheap Auto Racing Falcon which Luke raced today was only marginally slower than Steven Ellery’s car at testing a week ago which shows how close to the V8 Supercar Championship the Konica Minolta series is.”
This thought is repeated by Youlden who believes the 2004 Konica Minolta V8 Supercar Championship will be remembered due to the competitive nature of racing throughout the series.
“In previous years, there has always been one guy who has walked away with the championship before the final round. But this year the championship was entertaining with the winner only decided after the final race which is fantastic for the category,” Youlden commented.
“This year the approach of the teams has been more professional and after today we can easily say that the Konica Minolta V8 Supercar Championship is the second best motor racing category in Australia.”
Youlden was third overall at round six of the 2004 Konica Minolta V8 Supercar Championship.
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