Erebus Motorsport has recorded a disappointing finish during today’s Gold Coast 600 finale, which also marked the conclusion of the Pirtek Enduro Cup.

Qualifying was the first item on the agenda, and it was Reynolds who was the fastest of the Holden’s.

He pulled out a lap quick enough for provisional second, while an error on Dale Wood’s flyer saw him unable to complete the lap and qualify 20^th for the grid.

The #9 driver would eventually start from 6^th; Reynolds locking the wheels at turn four during his Shootout lap, and losing time during his first sector.

With Youlden lined up on the starting grid, he held steady up until lap 14 before falling to the beach chicane, nudging the wall and ultimately sending the #9 Commodore into the garage.

Crew worked frantically to get the Commodore back on track and complete the 75% race distance to be in the running to earn some crucial Championship points, but unfortunately it was too late to be deemed a finisher and Youlden was forced to retire from the race.

Running the alternate strategy, Wood started the 300-kilometre journey and was quick to move past the co-drivers and move up three spots before his first pit stop.

Without a cool suit, he was eager to hop out on lap 35 during a flurry of driver changes. Pither took the reins for the remaining 67 laps, re-joining the pack in 16^th.

With no Safety Cars to be seen for the races entirety, a first since 2007, the kiwi would take his last stop on lap 64 before passing the chequered flag in 18^th.

Erebus head to New Zealand next for the penultimate round of the Championship, but before the team do they’d like to thank Luke Youlden and Chris Pither for their outstanding effort this endurance season.

The Auckland SuperSprint is in just under two weeks, running November 3 – 5.

David Reynolds – #9 Erebus Penrite Racing
“Qualifying went really well, I told everyone I was going to try and be on pole and I got close to it in the first session, but I made an error in the Shootout. I got a really good run up until Turn 4 and after that I was trying too hard and didn’t make the most of it. The start of our race was going pretty good but Luke came unstuck trying to get a run on Steve Owen and it was enough damage to put us out. It’s just one of those days, it happens and overall I think Luke and I can be pretty happy with our enduro efforts.”

Luke Youlden – #9 Erebus Penrite Racing
“I got a good start but couldn’t really do much with it and got boxed in. I settled into a rhythm, I had more pace than Steve Owen and tried a couple passing manoeuvres but couldn’t quite get there. I felt like if we got past Steve we could have moved forward a fair bit. Myself, Steve and Dean Canto went too deep into the chicane, I committed and unfortunately it was the wrong move. Too much kerb and it fired me across into the wall and it was too much damage to get the car back out there in time.”

Dale Wood – #99 Erebus GB Galvanizing Racing
“I was on a reasonable lap in qualifying but got too close to the wall so it was disappointing, I think we would have had the potential to be somewhere midfield. We tried a different strategy with the race and I started but we couldn’t’ make a heap of ground and I got pretty hot as well without a cool suit. Chris jumped in and did majority of the race and did a really good job to bring it home in 18^th.

Chris Pither – #99 GB Galvanizing Racing
“We mixed the strategy up a bit and were the only ones to do that, but it didn’t seem to make a difference but it resulted in me doing the back half of the race and more laps than I expected. Honestly, it was hard work in the heat, counting down lap by lap with 45 to go I thought it was going to take forever but managed to make it through and finish 18^th in a relatively uneventful race. I had a few little battles with throughout the race and it was enjoyable, we just want to be further up than where we were.”