Ford Performance Racing (FPR) driver Mark Winterbottom has
driven the three best V8 Supercar races of his career to finish second
overall in the second round of the 2006 V8 Supercar Championship held at
Auckland's Pukekohe Park Raceway this weekend.
The 24 year old Ford Credit FPR Falcon driver finished fourth in Saturday's
first heat and commandingly raced to two third places in today's two 50 lap
heats.
What made his effort more outstanding was the fact that Winterbottom started
today's first 50 lap reverse grid race from 24th on the grid. Ford's fastest
young gun driver in the field mounted an exciting chase of leader Mark
Skaife in the third and final 50 lapper, while defending the advances of
Ford rival Craig Lowndes for the major part of the race. While Lowndes did
pass the FPR driver on the last lap, his points haul was not enough to beat
Winterbottom, who finished a superb second to Skaife with defending Ford
Champion Russell Ingall third.
A potential podium finish was lost for CAT FPR Falcon driver Jason Bright
who also displayed extremely strong form throughout the weekend, qualifying
third and finishing third in Saturday's opening race. In both of Sunday's
races, right front wheel-nut loosening problems forced the 2004 New Zealand
Champion into the pits for an unscheduled stop during each of the races that
proved costly. Bright finished 12th overall in his sixth appearance at this
venue.
The speed that both FPR Falcons displayed during this second round of the
series finds the Prodrive team excited about the prospects ahead at the
series' third round in Perth in three weeks time.
#5 Mark Winterbottom - "Second overall is as good as a win for me any day.
considering the drivers that I was competing with. Knowing that you can stay
with and challenge drivers like Mark Skaife and Craig Lowndes definitely
makes you feel good about your ability and speaks volumes for the equipment
that you have under you. The team did a great job all weekend to give me the
car I needed to compete as strongly as I did. We made a major change to the
car overnight that made it even faster for today's two races and this made
the reverse grid race an enjoyable one for me.
#6 Jason Bright - "We certainly proved that we can be very fast this
weekend. On the other side of that we also still have some problems that
need sorting. I am pleased for Mark and his performance clearly displayed
what we both could have been capable of here at Pukekohe. I look forward to
being able to do that in Perth."
FPR Motorsport Director, Tim Edwards - "A brilliant effort by both drivers
and the team this weekend. Our result was just reward for the three years of
hard work by the team - with some of it under trying circumstances. We are
all disappointed that Jason wasn't able to join Mark on the podium and the
fact that something like a wheel nut problem stopped our two car charge
through the field. We are looking forward to Perth and to continuing the
form that we have put on show here and at the Grand Prix this weekend."
Winterbottom enjoyed a weekend of career milestones in New Zealand this
weekend, including his best qualifying, race and round results in two years
of main series V8 Supercar racing. The Ford Credit FPR Falcon driver has
moved into the Championship top ten at 9th with 421 points, with team mate
Bright placed 12th with 328 points. Ford driver Russell Ingall leads the
title chase with 540 points.
This was another record-breaking trans-Tasman V8 Supercar round, with a
three day attendance total of 103,426 fans taking part in the event.
/ends.
For further information contact Paul Marinelli, FPR Media Relations
Manager - (+61) 0417 558 655 / (+61) 03 9387 1333.
Print quality FPR images from Pukekohe (including podium results) can be
downloaded from the FPR On Line Media Centre: www.fpr.com.au/mediacentre
Race 2 Summary Information:
Mark Winterbottom races from 24th to 3rd in NZ Race 2
Ford Credit FPR Falcon driver Mark Winterbottom has set a blistering pace at
Pukekohe Raceway in today's two-part second V8 Supercar race.
The 24 year old FPR driver raced from 24th on the reverse grid order to
finish a superb 3rd in an outstanding display of car speed and control in a
race which was red-flagged after 13 laps due to major accident damage to the
circuit safety barriers. Winterbottom's aggregate points score from the two
races so far places him 3rd on the grid for today's third and final 50 lap
race of the round.
CAT FPR Falcon driver Jason Bright raced from 25th to 15th by the 18th lap
of the re-started race, but was forced into the pits to replace a loose
wheel nut. He continued on to finish 20th, his aggregate points haul good
enough to place him 4th on the starting grid today's final race which will
start at 4:30pm (2:30pm EST).
The race was won by Garth Tander ahead of Steven Richards and Mark
Winterbottom.