YOULDEN DRIVES INTO UNFAMILIAR TERRITORY

By Auto Action

Date posted: 4 October 2022

Luke Youlden enters this weekend’s Bathurst 1000 in unfamiliar territory without the added pressure of a co-driver role, as he lines up in Porsche Paynter Dixon Carrera Cup for TekworkX Motorsport.

For just the second time in his 22-year career, Youlden does not have any driving duties at the Great Race, so this weekend he will be solely focusing on his Carrera Cup campaign.

Sitting 10th in the standings, with a pole position and a race win to his name, the 44-year-old has consistently been one of the fastest drivers at times each round.

After scoring a surprise podium in 2003 with Steven Ellery and sweet win alongside David Reynolds in 2017, Youlden has happy memories of the Mountain in a Supercar and is excited to make some more in a Porsche this weekend.

“I’m very excited to go to Bathurst and put all my focus in one category and really have fun,” he said.

“Ever since we got this car back in January, I’ve been looking forward to this round the most, it should really highlight the changes on the 992 compared to last year.”

The unique format sees a single practice session on Thursday, preceding qualifying later that day before one race a day over the remainder of the weekend.

With just a sole hit out before qualifying, Youlden said the new generation’s first visit to the Mountain provides an added challenge.

“It’s a 50-minute session which is a decent amount of time, but red flags and the long lap time can whittle that down pretty quickly,” he said.

“I’d say the less practice the better, we have been rolling out pretty quickly in opening sessions this year and experience will count for a lot, which we have quite a bit of in this team.

“The track is going to be very different by the time we get out for qualifying anyway, with the gap between the two sessions on Thursday. This weekend is going to be all about adapting quickly, especially if the rain arrives as it is forecast.”

Round seven of the 2022 Porsche Paynter Dixon Carrera Cup Championship is one of the support categories to look out for at Mount Panorama this weekend.

For more of the latest motorsport news pick up the latest edition of AUTO ACTION.

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YOULDEN DRIVES INTO UNFAMILIAR TERRITORY

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