Luke Youlden is bracing for a “baptism of fire” when he makes his solo Supercars debut this weekend.
Youlden will replace David Reynolds at Kelly Grove Racing for this weekend’s ARMOR ALL Sydney SuperNight.
His maiden solo start will come 21 years, 56 races, a Bathurst win and a retirement after his debut.
The 43-year-old made his main game debut as a co-driver for Perkins Engineering in 2000.
It would be 17 years until he won a Supercars race, and it came on the biggest stage at Mount Panorama alongside Reynolds.
Only last week, Youlden was at home with his family in Queensland.
Now, after several false starts in his career, two decades of co-driving and a retirement in 2019, Youlden will make his solo main game debut.
“There was a point of interest, but all I was doing was keeping half en eye on it,” Youlden told Supercars.com.
“Not in my wildest dreams did I think, seven days later, that I’d be on the grid.
“It’s been a frantic few days, that’s for sure; trying to get my life in order. Being from Queensland, I can’t go back until Christmas now.
“It might have a strain on the family, my two girls weren’t too happy about it. But I couldn’t pass this opportunity up, it’s awesome.
“I need to do my best job for the team now, that’s my focus. I’m glad the team looked to me and has the confidence in me to do the job.”
A veteran of 20 Great Race starts, Youlden had resigned himself as a career co-driver.
He has driven for a number of pit lane’s biggest teams; he shifted from Perkins Engineering to Steven Ellery’s squad, and claimed Sandown and Bathurst podiums in 2003.
A move to Stone Brothers Racing followed, before he also completed stints at Ford Performance Racing, Brad Jones Racing and DJR Team Penske.
It was the Erebus Motorsport move which delivered his greatest success in Bathurst in 2017, but even then, he was content to be wingman.
This weekend, for the first time in his Supercars career, he’ll have fresh tyres, his own seating position, and a set-up to his liking, and his liking only.
Youlden won the Great Race in 2017
The catch? This weekend will feature mixed compound racing, two night races and inclement weather.
“The most challenging thing for me will be to try and get the most out of a green tyre. As a co-driver, you don't get many chances to do that,” he explained.
“I’m excited about that challenge, but the weekend will be like that. Hard tyre, soft tyre, night racing, wet racing.
“It’s going to be a baptism of fire. Welcome to the big leagues, son.”
Youlden will race a Ford Mustang Supercar for the first time in his career, having wheeled Commodores for Erebus between 2017 and 2019.
His only Ford start in the last decade came in 2016 with DJR Team Penske.
However, he has taken to the #26 Penrite Mustang already in 2021, at both the team’s ride day a Phillip Island and a ride day after the Penrite Sandown SuperSprint in March.
Despite his experience, and running in this year’s Porsche Carrera Cup series, Youlden understands the onus is now on him to deliver.
'It’s going to be a baptism of fire. Welcome to the big leagues, son'
“I've got a reasonable idea of what to expect,” he said of the Mustang Supercar.
“People always ask, ‘What’s the Mustang like compared to the Commodore?’
“For me, it’s team versus team. If you drove two Mustangs for two different teams, they’d feel different. It’s more how the team sets the car up.
“A Supercar is a Supercar. You should be able to adapt quickly if you’re at this level.”
The 2021 Repco Supercars Championship will resume this weekend at the ARMOR ALL Sydney SuperNight.
Every session of the Sydney Motorsport Park event will be broadcast live on Foxtel (Fox Sports 506) and streamed on Kayo from 12:30pm AEDT on both days.
The Seven Network will showcase highlights of the event.
Tickets for the three upcoming Sydney events are on sale now.