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Luke Youlden

Born into the heady world of motorsports, Luke Youlden is one of Australia’s up and coming motor racing identities.

Former “Rookie of the Year” and 2000 Australian Formula Ford Champion, the 27 year old Victorian is a force to be reckoned with his sights firmly set on a ‘full time’ V8 Supercar drive. Luke is fast becoming the name on everyone’s lips.

Showing skill and tenacity beyond his years, Luke steered himself and co-driver Steve Ellery to a third place finish in the 2003 Bob Jane T-Marts Bathurst 1000. This was hot on the heels from his brilliant second place finish in the rain drenched Sandown 500, just a month prior.

Entering competitive racing at the age of 16, the son of Australian racing legend Kent Youlden, finished his first full season of state Formula Ford competition in 1995. Outshining his competitors by gaining a pole position and three podium places in the five-race series, it was clear that Luke was born to race.

1999 saw Luke engineer Greg Ritter’s National Championship winning Formula Ford and step-up to driving duties himself to win the Bathurst 1000 Support race and the Championship of Phillip Island.

2000 was a year of highs for Luke, earning a nomination as “Motorsport News” Circuit Racer of the Year while winning the “Motorsport News” Young Achiever of the Year award. His debut in the V8 Supercar series for the well renowned Castrol Perkins Racing Team cemented his reputation as one of racings newest talents.

2002 also saw Luke secure a full-time driving position with the Super Cheap Auto Racing Team in the Konica Minolta V8 Supercar series and an endurance seat alongside Steve Ellery in the main V8 Supercar series. Luke further tightened his position with the team by winning the Konica V8 Supercar race at Bathurst from pole position, while backing it up by co-driving Steve Ellery’s Super Cheap Auto Racing Ford to ninth in the Bathurst 1000 main event.

Surpassing his success in 2002 by his podium placements in 2003, Luke furthered his profile by driving car #30 to fifth in the 2003 Konica Minolta series.

The Konica Minolta series was again the focus for 2004, which saw Luke finish on equal points with series winner Andrew Jones but lose on a ‘count-back’ on the number of race wins. The endurance races at Sandown and Bathurst underlined Luke’s talents behind the wheel. Outranking a number of established stars in terms of speed and consistency, Luke received the call-up to drive for the V8 Championship winning team, Stone Brothers Racing in 2005.

Luke has his sights set firmly on winning the 2005 Carrera Cup Championship in a Porsche 911 racing car as well as taking out the two biggest races in the Australian motor racing calendar, the Sandown 500 and Bathurst 1000 in a Stone Brothers Racing Ford Falcon.