Ellery and Youlden face the challenge at Sandown 500
18/9/2004 17:42 (Press Release) -
Super Cheap Auto Racing’s Steven Ellery and Luke Youlden have battled on to finish the Betta Electrical Sandown 500 after a mid race incident nearly spelt the end of the event for both drivers this afternoon.
Youlden got a fantastic start with the Super Cheap Auto Racing Falcon making up four positions on the first lap. Throughout his stint Youlden displayed great driving maturity and was in sixth position on lap 15.
On lap 40 Youlden experienced a brief off track excursion but recovered to ensure the Super Cheap Auto Racing Falcon was in 11th position when Ellery took over 10 laps later.
“I got a fantastic start which placed me in a good position for the majority of my stint,” Youlden said, “I felt really comfortable in the car and focused on providing Steven [Ellery] with a good position when he got into the Super Cheap Auto Racing Falcon.”
“Today I am in better condition than last year when we came second and the experience I have gained over the last 12 months helped me today to get a good start and drive in traffic.”
With the first pit stop completed, Ellery went on the track but was unfortunately caught up in an accident with #car 20 and car #18 on the first lap he completed in the race.
The Super Cheap Auto Racing Falcon was brought into the pits where the team immediately attended to the panel damage on the Super Cheap Auto Racing Falcon.
After losing two laps on the leaders, Ellery completed another lap only to be forced to return to the pits so the crew could attend to a steering problem which had resulted from the collision.
The Super Cheap Auto Racing Falcon returned to the circuit and commenced completing lap after lap in order to secure much needed championship points. A drive through penalty also hindered Ellery as he attempted to get back into the race once the damage had been repaired.
By the end of the race Ellery had made his way from 29th position to 22nd.
“One thing that did become apparent today is that the Super Cheap Auto Racing Falcon is a really strong car. The car basically ran faultlessly and it was only the on track accident that cost us a number of laps and what I believe was a top five position,” Ellery said.
“Even with the damage the car ran a lap time of 1.11.6543 which was the ninth fastest lap time of the race.”
Ellery and Youlden will now focus on the jewel of the V8 Supercar crown the Bathurst 1000 at Mount Panorama on the 7 – 10 October.
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