Winterbottom predicts great Bathhurst 1000

Ford Performance Racing will start the Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 from the front row of the grid second place after a courageous effort in the sudden-death top ten shootout from Mark Winterbottom.

The nerve-wracking one-lap format saw yesterday’s top ten drivers get just one crack at a lap around the notorious Mt Panorama.

Fastest on Friday, Frosty was last out in the Castrol FPR Falcon. He got off to a bad start, going wide on the last corner of his warm up lap and was 0.077s down on leader Garth Tander after one sector.

A phenomenal second sector saw Frosty pull out a narrow lead and the team held its breath as he powered down Conrod Straight at 300km/h into the last corner.

At the chequered flag he was just 0.1243s behind Tander’s time, giving FPR its third front-row start in three years.

Tomorrow’s Bathurst 1000 starts at 10:30am (Australian time)

Mark Winterbottom
Castrol FPR Falcon
“The start of the lap was pretty average; I was on the dirt which isn’t ideal. I tried too hard I guess and made a mistake which cost me about four tenths. I pulled it back though because I was only about one tenth off Garth’s pace after the first sector but his last sector was obviously pretty strong.

“That makes three years we’ve started from the front row here and it’s nice to still be there; we take a lot of pride in that. It’s all shaping up well; quite a few teams are within very close times so it’s going to be a great race tomorrow.”

Steve Richards
Castrol FPR Falcon
“When we saw Tander pull out that stunning last sector, we thought it would be hard to beat but we knew that it was the strongest part of our lap as well. It was always going to go down to the wire and it did but we'll start on the front row and that’s a great result.

“I can tell you, standing in the garage watching your team-mate you get as nervous as sitting waiting in the car to take your run up the hill! I don’t feel like a co-driver; I ride every bump, every corner and every braking point with Frosty.”

Tim Edwards
Team Principal
“My heart was racing, particularly when he went through the second sector! As a spectacle you couldn’t ask for anything closer than that and yes, we came out second best, but it’s still a great result.

“Mark was very calm about the whole thing, unlike most other people in the garage! I’ve got my fingers and toes crossed for tomorrow; we’ve got a fast car so with a little bit of lady luck we should be good.”

Supercheap Auto 1000 - 2008 V8 Supercar Championship Rd10
Mount Panorama - Bathurst
TOP TEN SHOOT OUT

1. Tander, HRT, 2:07.2963
2. Winterbottom, Castrol FPR Falcon, +0.1243
3. Courtney, SBR,+0.4062
4. Dumbrell, TWR, +0.5059
5. Whincup, 888, +0.6550
6. J.Richards, Tasman, +0.6913
7. Davison, DJR, +0.9548
8. Ingall, PMM, +1.4837
9. Coulthard, PCR, +1.5088
10. Wilson, BJR, +1.8977