Bathurst winners reflect on ‘team of rejects’ victory

The pair took a sensational victory at Mount Panorama on Sunday, surviving wild weather, crashes and hints of a fuel economy race in the closing stages.

It was a milestone moment for minnow squad Erebus, which in itself has come through a tumultuous period of abandoning its Mercedes programme to build and run Commodores, and a move from Queensland to Melbourne amid downsizing at the end of 2015.

It’s also a moment of redemption for the famously quirky Reynolds, who joined the team for 2016 after being ousted from title-winning squad Prodrive Racing.

“It feels really, really good,” said Reynolds.

“Obviously as a team we have worked extremely hard over the last year and a half to get to this point. It has just been a massive whirlwind of experience over the last year and half.

“I owe everything to them. It is not just us two [drivers] up here, there is a crew of 22 people behind us, which is probably one of the smallest teams in pit lane. They have done an absolutely stellar performance, and an amazing job all weekend.”

While Reynolds and Youlden winning the race is unlikely based on the size of the team, it was hardly a fluke win. Reynolds qualified the car second, and the pair were in the hunt throughout the day before emerging as the sole front-running crew not to run into any major dramas.

“During the race the Prodrive cars were extra speedy at the start, especially in the full wet conditions they just blew us to bits,” added Reynolds.

“Then it was about 28 laps to go, we dropped back to ninth and were basically out of the race – but we were trying to do fuel numbers and race everyone around us. There was kind of a cool battle going on, we were all racing each other and we kind of knew it was for something but we didn’t know what it was going to be for.

“We were trying to hit fuel numbers and pass cars as well, so it made it really difficult out there.

“I didn’t think we were going to win it until that last Safety Car; I pulled a small gap on Scott [Pye], and was able to maintain it.”

The win was also a first Bathurst triumph for unconventional team owner Betty Klimenko, although Reynolds said his boss was already ecstatic with the weekend before the race even started.

“Even this morning, before the race started, she said ‘everything up to now has been a fairytale, so it really doesn’t matter what happens’,” he said.

“And then we went and won the race. It sounds a bit silly doesn’t it?’"

It was a race of redemption for Youlden as well, who had partnered Fabian Coulthard for four consecutive Bathurst 1000s ahead of this year.

Ironically, Reynolds and Youlden were joined by Coulthard and new partner Tony D’Alberto on the Bathurst podium, the Penske pair having finished third.

“Right place, right time, let me tell you,” said Youlden, who secured his first Bathurst win on his 18th attempt.

“Yeah, a little team of what, do we call it a team of rejects or something? All working together, and it has been mega.”