Bathurst 1000 winner Luke Youlden is set to take to the Australian Production Cars field at Queensland Raceway next month.
Youlden will team up with 20-year-old Zoe Woods aboard the TekworkX Motorsport 2018 Hyundai i30 N in Class C, in the second round of the season.
In addition to his Supercars career, Youlden boasts plenty of production car experience, taking out the Class E title in the Australian GT Production Car Championship in 2001.
The 44-year-old is prepared to capitalise on his experience at Queensland Raceway.
“I have a fair bit of history in the production cars, so I am excited about getting back into the category,” Youlden said.
“We are trying to get as many miles for Zoe as we can, she is my little protégé, and this is another stepping stone for moving her career forward, and it is just great that I can actually share a car with her at this event.
“I am excited about it, and I think she will surprise a lot of people.
“She is very talented and one of the quicker learners of anyone I have ever taught before.
“This will obviously be a pretty fast category for her with faster cars around her and she is going to have to have her wits around her, but she is fast and talented, and I am just excited to be a part of the journey with her.”
As Youlden suggested, the event will not be the first time the pair have worked together.
Woods explained, “I started go karting at the age of 12 and completed a few New South Wales state rounds whilst I was still living in Sydney.
“Once I moved to the Gold Coast, Norwell essentially became my home for the next two years as I learnt everything from driving a manual to ‘heel-toeing’ to car control with Luke Youlden and some of the Norwell crew.
“Then I started to practice what I learnt and grew as a driver through track days at Queensland Raceway in my Toyota 86, before moving on to other tracks like Sydney Motorsport Park.”
Youlden is also excited by the Fight in the Night race which will be held on the Saturday evening of the weekend.
“I am looking forward to the Fight in the Night,” he said.
” have done a lot of 12 Hour stuff in the dark and some stuff at Sydney Motorsport Park in the dark, so it will be interesting.
“I have never driven QR under lights, but I think it will be good and have a great atmosphere.
“I am hoping the weather is a bit better than the Queensland weather has been lately.
“I am not sure how it will go in the rain, but it will definitely be exciting.
“I think night racing is great, the atmosphere of a night race is something a bit special, and I am just looking forward to being a part of it – I love racing whatever I can jump in.”
Round 2 of the 2022 APC season will hit Queensland Raceway across August 5-7, as part of the Shannons Motorsport Australia Championships.
The event will consist of two 30-minute races, on Saturday and Sunday mornings, as well as the 300km night race.
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