Mark Winterbottom celebrating his win in the Sucrogen Townsville 400
Both Orrcon Steel-backed drivers finish in the Top Five
Mark Winterbottom has leaped into third place in the 2010 V8 Supercar Championship standings following a comprehensive victory in the Sucrogen Townsville 400 today.
Winterbottom was the star of the race aboard the #5 Orrcon Steel FPR Falcon after coming from sixth place on the grid at the start of the 72-lap journey. The 29 year-old took over the front running courtesy of impressive speed and swift work from his Ford Performance Racing crew during the opening cycle of pit stops.
Such was the pace shown by Winterbottom he had opened a 12 second buffer over his nearest rivals by lap 45. Unfortunately though, this lead was extinguished when the safety car was deployed to retrieve the stricken car of Dean Fiore setting up an intense final stint for Winterbottom with James Courtney pressuring him for the lead.
Despite Courtney’s best efforts Winterbottom held on to record the 14th race win of his career by 1.2 seconds. The result backs up Winterbottom’s third place from yesterday and secured his fourth consecutive podium finish.
Highlighting the continual improvement by the Orrcon Steel-backed Ford Performance Racing outfit over the past few events was the fact that Steve Richards also enjoyed a pair of strong results across the weekend.
The dual Bathurst Champion secured ninth spot yesterday before going on to record his best finish of the year so far with a fine fifth placing during today’s race.
Courtney, who crossed the line second today behind Winterbottom, remains in the lead of the championship after eight events ahead of yesterday’s race winner Jamie Whincup.
The championship now takes an eight week hiatus before returning to the track for the L&H 500 at Phillip Island in mid September.
QUOTES FROM THE DRIVERS
Mark Winterbottom – #5 Orrcon Steel FPR Falcon
“It is an awesome result by everyone in the team, to have both Orrcon Steel-backed cars inside the top five is a great result,” said Winterbottom.
“Today’s win is probably one of the best wins of my career, I had a 12 second gap but then had to really fight for the win and hold off James over the final stages.
“I had some good pace early in today’s race but when you are stuck behind someone your brakes begin to overheat, so it was good to get some clear air ahead of me and the Orrcon Steel FPR Falcon was really working well.
“There are some very happy guys in the garage – as there should be. When your Truckie gives you a hug you know that it is a good result.
“It’s a great way to go into the mid season break, we’ll go home an celebrate this win in Melbourne so everyone in the team, both travelling and workshop based, can enjoy it.”
Steve Richards – Orrcon Steel-backed #6 Dunlop Super Dealer FPR Falcon
“It is a fantastic result for the team,” said Richards.
“Finishing inside the top ten yesterday was a good result, then to get a top five finish today was a huge boost for everyone in the team.
“The car wasn’t quite in the window during the first part of today’s race but we made some changes in the first stop which certainly helped my pace.
“We came to here with some confidence following a top ten finish in Darwin, we have certainly continued this momentum this weekend and can go into the break on a real high.”
V8 Supercar Championship Series Points Standings
After Race 16 of 26
1. James Courtney 1947
2. Jamie Whincup 1827
3. Mark Winterbottom 1623
4. Shane Van Gisbergen 1598
5. Garth Tander 1509
6. Craig Lowndes 1479
7. Lee Holdsworth 1398
8. Rick Kelly 1352
9. Michael Caruso 1259
10. Steven Johnson 1151
20. Steve Richards 810
Event 8 of the 2010 V8 Supercar Championship Series
Sucrogen Townsville 400
Townsville, QLD
RESULTS: Race 2 (Series Race 16)
1. #5 Mark Winterbottom
2. #18 James Courtney
3. #2 Garth Tander
4. #55 Paul Dumbrell
5. #6 Steve Richards
6. #22 Will Davison
7. #9 Shane Van Gisbergen
8. #8 Jason Richards
9. #19 Jonathan Webb
10. #11 Jason Bargwanna
RESULTS: Qualifying
1. #1 Jamie Whincup 1:12.7275
2. #888 Craig Lowndes 1:13.0095
3. #2 Garth Tander 1:13.1002
4. #18 James Courtney 1:13.1261
5. #14 Jason Bright 1:13.1607
6. #5 Mark Winterbottom 1:13.2774
7. #22 Will Davison 1:13.2878
8. #8 Jason Richards 1:13.3214
9. #17 Steven Johnson 1:13.3435
10. #6 Steve Richards 1:13.3440
RESULTS: Race 1 (Series Race 15)
1. #1 Jamie Whincup
2. #2 Garth Tander
3. #5 Mark Winterbottom
4. #33 Lee Holdsworth
5. #18 James Courtney
6. #39 Russell Ingall
7. #8 Jason Richards
8. #9 Shane Van Gisbergen
9. #6 Steve Richards
10. #55 Paul Dumbrell
RESULTS: Top Ten Shootout
1. #1 Jamie Whincup 1:13.3223
2. #5 Mark Winterbottom 1:13.6361
3. #2 Garth Tander 1:13.8638
4. #14 Jason Bright 1:13.8859
5. #18 James Courtney 1:13.9123
6. #17 Steven Johnson 1:13.9416
7. #24 Fabian Coulthard 1:14.0071
8. #33 Lee Holdsworth 1:14.0149
9. #9 Shane Van Gisbergen 1:14.5248
10. #888 Craig Lowndes 1:14.6617
RESULTS: Qualifying
1. #888 Craig Lowndes 1:13.0511
2. #1 Jamie Whincup 1:13.0634
3. #5 Mark Winterbottom 1:13.2559
4. #14 Jason Bright 1:13.3126
5. #18 James Courtney 1:13.3422
6. #9 Shane Van Gisbergen 1:13.5284
7. #2 Garth Tander 1:13.5838
8. #17 Steven Johnson 1:13.5924
9. #33 Lee Holdsworth 1:13.6042
10. #24 Fabian Coulthard 1:13.6186
11. #6 Steve Richards 1:13.6230
ORRCON STEEL STATS – Townsville
Mark Winterbottom
Debut: Event 6 – 2009
Races: 4
Best Qualifying: 2nd (Q1 2010)
Avg. Qualifying: 7.3
Best Races Result: 1st (R2 2010)
Avg. Race Result: 4.5
Steve Richards
Debut: Event 6 – 2009
Races: 4
Best Qualifying: 10th (Q2 2010)
Avg. Qualifying: 16.5
Best Race Result: 5th (R2 – 2010)
Avg. Race Result: 13.8
