2017 Bathurst 1000 winner Luke Youlden is set to play a more active role in the ongoing growth and development of Tekworkx Motorsport, becoming a shareholder in the Gold Coast-based team.
Youlden and Rachelle Woods have each taken ownership of a 25 per cent stake in the team, with existing owner Rob Woods retaining a 50 per cent shareholding.
The 2021 season has been busy for Tekworkx Motorsport; as well as running entries in Porsche Carrera Cup for Youlden and Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge for Rob Woods, the squad is also campaigning a trio of Toyota 86s, for rising stars Kai Allen, Rossi Johnson and Andrew Shah, along with providing technical support to Michael Sherwell and Bailey Sweeney.
Youlden said he is highly motivated in assisting Tekworkx in its next phase of expansion.
“I share the same sort of passion and dream for Tekworkx as Rob does,” Youlden said.
“We want Tekworkx to have a strong presence in the industry. I’ve integrated into the team well and I see nothing but positives for the future.”
Youlden’s role will continue to be focused around driver training and managing the race team.
“I need to stick to my strengths and driver development is definitely one of my assets,” he said.
“It’s also about relationships and trying to get the right people – both drivers and team personnel – moving forward. I think I can bring that sort of experience to the table.
“In terms of technical resources, Rob doesn’t do things by halves, which is another reason I love being part of the team. Everything is professionally presented and we already have some very skilled people involved.”
Rachelle Woods will continue to oversee the operational aspects of the Tekworkx organisation.
“I’m super-excited, with my background in event and business management along with mentoring from Rob on the business aspects of the team, I can’t wait to see the team grow,” Rachelle said.
“I’ll continue with operations and logistics for events, making sure everyone is looked after. I’ll be taking on a few extra responsibilities within the workshop as well.”
Rob Woods is proud to have attracted someone of Youlden’s calibre to invest in the team.
“Luke and I spoke in depth about him investing in the team; having a driver who has been involved in racing all his life and who has won Bathurst wanting to become invested in our team, I can only see the positives for all involved,” Rob said.
“With Luke’s driving experience and Rachelle’s organisational abilities, we have some powerful ingredients in place to set us up for the future.”
Youlden’s immediate focus now turns to this weekend’s second round of the Porsche Paynter Dixon Carrera Cup at The Bend Motorsport Park. Youlden’s driving talents were on show in the opening round at Sandown; after retiring from the first race with radiator damage, he mounted a stunning fightback from the rear of the field to fifth in race two.
“I’m excited to go to The Bend; after the first round at Sandown, we identified some areas for improvement and we’ve worked on those,” Youlden said.
“It’s a super-competitive championship, probably the strongest we’ve ever seen in Australia. We’re still learning, but I think we can make an impression.”
Carrera Cup Round 2 Schedule
(Adelaide time)
Friday, 7 May
11:50am – Practice 1 (25 min)
2:10pm – Practice 2 (25 min)
Saturday, 8 May
10:10am – Qualifying (20 min)
2:50pm – Race 1 (11 laps)
Sunday, 9 May
11:15am – Race 2 (20 laps)
2:25pm – Race 3 (11 laps)
