FPR Sizzling in the Darwin Heat

Frosty finishes on top in practice

Mark Winterbottom is currently leading drivers of the V8 Supercar Championship Series on track as well as in the points as he topped today's practice times at Hidden Valley Raceway for Ford Performance Racing.

The #5 Orrcon Ford Credit FPR Falcon driver was in 16th with four minutes to go before the team flipped him onto a qualifying set up. Frosty lost no time in the blistering Darwin heat, setting the fastest time on his first lap on new tyres and snatching provisional-pole by just 0.0022s from Mark Skaife.

Team-mate Steve Richards meanwhile looked comfortable in third place but a last-minute flurry of action saw him lose a few positions to finish seventh in the #6 Castrol FPR Falcon, just 0.15s off pole.

Qualifying will kick off tomorrow (Saturday) at 11.30am.

Mark Winterbottom #5 Orrcon Ford Credit FPR Falcon

'It's pretty close but we came out on top so the weekend's started pretty well! Practice doesn't count towards anything, but it shows the other competitors that I'm going to be around the front and that gives you the edge I think.

'I had a few wide runs early on; you're always trying to find your limit and that comes from going deep but there were no major problems.'

Steven Richards #6 Castrol FPR Falcon

'Practice went well, but I made a slight mistake at turn eight when the car and tyres were at their optimum and after that I couldn't put in a faster time. I still put in a time under 1m10s, which only eight drivers managed to do, so I'm pretty happy with that.'

Tim Edwards Team Principal

'We're on slightly different control tyres this week but it's difficult for us to compare them because we didn't do back-to-back comparisons. In general I'd say they had good longevity and no deterioration so we're very happy.

'The heat was a big factor today; both the drivers were in the cool suits but the car and engine were working perfectly. We're well within our comfort zone despite the difficult conditions here and it's just business as usual! We are where we expected to be.'

V8 Supercar Championship Series, Round Seven PRACTICE

1 Mark Winterbottom #5 Orrcon Ford Credit FPR Falcon 1:09.7854
2 Mark Skaife HRT 1:09.7876
3 Lee Holdsworth GRM 1:09.8323
4 Garth Tander HRT 1:09.8880
5 Will Davison DJR 1:09.9013
6 Jamie Whincup 888 1:09.9384
7 Steve Richards #6 Castrol FPR Falcon 1:09.9393