Ford Faqs

Ford Performance Racing driver, Mark Winterbottom, was able to secure his first solo V8 supercar win in Bahrain. We have to say that it was a close call and we weren’t sure if he would be able to make it.

In a round marred by mishaps that reshaped the top five championship results, Winterbottom finished the weekend with two wins and a third in his FPR Falcon. In the last race James Courtney was second and Steve Richards third. As some of the main contenders crashed and bashed around him, Winterbottom held his form but it was Garth Tander that won out, reclaiming his series lead.

Defending champion Rick Kelly punted Toll HSV teammate Tander, which produced some icy moments in the pits after the race despite Tander clawing his way back up the championship ladder. Just before the tap Winterbottom breezed past the pair on the main straight as if they were standing still. Winterbottom was thankful his car got home in one piece. “It’s been a long time coming,” he said. “To have the speed we’ve had and not get the results has been a major disappointment.” Winterbottom had a dream run in each round, avoiding fender benders and conserving his car.

Last week his BF Falcon was one of four cars involved in an off-track smash on the way to the track, which set the tone of the Bahrain race with Craig Lowndes and Jamie Whincup crashing out of race one and the Tander-Kelly incident. “It’s all gone smooth and when it does you get results,” Winterbottom said. He sits fifth in the drivers’ championship with 336 points, a long way behind his nearest rival, Rick Kelly, who is fourth on 496. Tander leads the series on 530. “To get to fifth was our goal and to do it in one weekend was nice,” Winterbottom said. “If we can get a couple of more podiums for the rest of the year that builds momentum.”

Winterbottom said he felt deflated that he was finishing strongly at the end of the season but would not be in the main championship chase. “It’s disappointing but everyone in our workshop is pretty hungry and it’s made us hungrier because we know we’ve got a good car,” he said. “We’ve had a bit of bad luck and a few errors. “But we just want to finish this year strongly and bring on next year. We’re looking to the future and not so much to the present. “We need to finish this year strong to carry the confidence over Christmas.”

The surprise of race three was Craig Lowndes, who moved from the back of the grid to top the podium. He now sits in second spot on the championship table behind Tander. Jamie Whincup’s Bahrain sessions were marred by accidents. Several on-track incidents pushed him down the pecking order and he finished out of the points for the last round.