White slams Konica officials.

Matthew White, driver of the Gulf Western Oil/Jayco Falcon, has expressed concern over the standards enforced by Officials ahead of round two of the Konica Minolta V8 Supercar Championship, getting underway next weekend at the Clipsal 500 in Adelaide.

"Officials [in the Konica Minolta Championship] are repeatedly letting drivers get away with just about anything on the track," White said. "They [the Officials] are creating an environment where drivers can easily develop bad habits."

"The Konica Minolta Championship is a training ground for many drivers looking move onto Bathurst and Sandown. From this year's series, there could be 10 or 15 drivers who make the step up," continued White.

"Many things the Officials turn a blind eye to in the Konica Minolta Championship would be penalised, in some cases heavily, in the V8 Supercar Championship."

"Officials need to act responsibly, think about the careers of these drivers and consider the implications their actions can have on the drivers' development," White concluded.

Despite this, White is confident of a positive outcome for his Gulf Western Oil/Jayco Falcon at the Clipsal 500. In third position in the 2004 Konica Minolta Championship standings, he is still eyeing the title.

"Although it [the Konica Minolta Championship] will be a tough competition this year," White commented. "I am confident we have what it takes to win."

"In round one at Wakefield, a fair bit went wrong but we still managed to come away with a podium finish," White said. "Coming into the race, the car wasn't quite to the standard we wanted. We had a shocker in race two and in race three we were taken out twice."

"In Adelaide, the plan is to come away with an equal or better result than at Wakefield."

Newcomer to Matthew White Motorsport, Dean Wanless, is quickly finding his feet in the #76 Wastecorp Falcon.

"I am very impressed with Dean's performance in his first race in a V8 in some time," said White. "He had a very promising run in the final race of the day where he finished in 13th place after starting the race at the back of the grid."

"Adelaide will be a real test for him though. A street race is very different to anything he is used to, but I am confident he will perform well," White concluded.

Round two of the Konica Minolta Championship will be at Clipsal 500, Adelaide Street Circuit in South Australia on the 18 - 21 March 2004.