Mr Youlden, father of 2017 Bathurst winner Luke Youlden, had a long motorsport career with victories in rallies, rallycross and sport sedan and production car events.
“He was ruthless in a race car and a gentleman outside of it,” said his son Luke in a Speedcafe article.
“He was a big influence on my career and got to see me win at Bathurst in 2017.
“When we (with David Reynolds) won, it took a long time for me to get back to the car where my phone was and the emotional voicemail he left will stay with me forever.
“He was a rock, stable and so dependable. Growing up, if I needed a lift from three hours away, he would be there.
“He would do anything for anyone, he was a genuine nice guy.”
Speedcafe said that Mr Youlden started competition in rallycross events in 1970 in an FC Holden and after two years moved to rallying with seven championship event victories in a Mitsubishi Colt.
Engineer: Father of Bathurst winner Luke, Kent Youlden has passed away at 72 after a long and successful motorsport and engineering career
After 1974, he turned to road racing in a Holden LJ Torana that he purchased from Fernando D’Alberto, the uncle of Tony D’Alberto.
He raced it for three years and won many races, including a couple of six-cylinder sports sedan championships.
He bought a Cortina TE body shell and turned it into a sports sedan powered by an F5000 engine and raced it from 1978 to 1981.
In 1986-87 he competed with his brother Brett in a Holden VK Commodore in production cars and the Commodore classic series. In 1990, the brothers won the 1990 Yokohama Winton 300 by two laps in their Ford EA Falcon.
Kent won the Australian production car championship in 1990 and 1991 with factory backing in EA and EB Falcons.
The brothers teamed with Ken Douglas to finish second outright at the 1991 James Hardie 12 Hour in a Ford Laser TX-3 Turbo 4WD. Two years later Kent and Brett, together with Chris Muscat, were fifth outright in the Bathurst once-around-the-clock event in a Falcon.
Speedcafe reported that after his production car career, Kent turned his hand to historic touring cars and won 11 races from 13 starts in a Holden HQ Monaro 350 and was second in the other two.
“Kent had numerous great races with many victories, sometimes against superior machinery,” Speedcafe said.
“He was also under the watchful eye of touring car drivers Dick Johnson and Colin Bond and even tested a Dick Johnson Racing Ford Sierra at Mallala.
“He drove only eight laps and while mindful of bending Dick’s championship contender, was less than two seconds off the qualifying benchmark.”
After he left Ford in 2007 and having already retired from racing, Kent worked in high performance driver training with Kevin Flynn’s Driver Dynamics and the John Bowe Driving School.
He was part of a Ford new model launch in South Africa and spent several years travelling overseas before the illness set in.
Speedcafe said he will be remembered as an “icon of the sport.”
He is survived by his wife Yvonne, children Rebecca, Luke, James and Clint, brothers Brett and Ray and their families.
By Neil Dowling
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