White set for Mountain attack
18/9/2004 18:01 (Press Release) -
Matthew White heads to next month’s Bathurst 1000 buoyed by yet another solid endurance race performance after finishing 11th in the Sandown 500 on Sunday. White underscored the reasons he is one of the drivers snapped up by level one teams for endurance races with a flawless performance when he teamed up with Marcus Marshall in the second PWR Racing car.
The Sandown 500 is a solid form guide to the Mount Panorama classic according to White. "The best thing about Sandown was that neither Marcus nor I had done a lot of laps in the car prior to Sandown. I’d done about 12 laps in the car and Marcus hadn’t done any this year.
"So for both of us to get that race under our belts and get totally familiar with the car means that we should head to Bathurst with a lot more confidence."
This was the first time White had teamed with PWR and the experience has left him feeling upbeat about the future prospects of the combination.
"Certainly everyone else will be stronger, but I think we went into the Sandown race particularly vulnerable in that our experience with the team and the car was at a minimum. It would have been less than just about any other team up and down pit lane."
White is now ready to concentrate on his twin commitments over election weekend. As well as driving the PWR Commodore in the 1000, he will pilot the Gulf Western Oils/Jayco Caravans Ford in the 25-lap support race.
"The Konica Minolta race at Bathurst often takes second priority to the main commitment. But even with that attitude we’ve proven to be pretty competitive in the Konica Minolta race there year after year. I’ll let the team manage everything whist I spend most of my time with the PWR team."
The Gulf Western Oils/Jayco Caravans team is preparing the Ford for what they are confident will be another solid performance on one of the world’s great circuits.
‘We’re working on the car now to see if we can find a bit more pace and do a better job than last year." And last year, White went so close to taking a trip to the top rung of the Mount Panorama podium.
"I started from third, worked my way into the lead and then I made a mistake under brakes into The Chase and threw it all away to finish third."
White has an impressive history at Bathurst and is relishing the opportunity to add to that record with this year’s twin pronged assault on the Mountain.
Practice for the Bathurst 1000 starts at Mount Panorama on Thursday October 7. The Konica Minolta race is on Saturday October 9 followed by The Great Race on the Sunday.
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