Frosty On Fire As He Takes Win #2

Frosty finishes 1st in Race 2 and Race 3

Mark Winterbottom dominated proceedings at Queensland Raceway today, giving Ford Performance Racing a comfortable lead in the V8 Supercar Championship Series.

The 27-year-old scored two wins, and his second round victory this year, with a power-house performance that started as the flag dropped for the day's opening battle.

Frosty beat fellow Ford driver James Courtney off the line in this morning's race and effectively led every lap after that. He withstood a determined attack from Russell Ingall in the day's final race but the Orrcon Steel Ford Credit Falcon powered away in the second half as Ingall's tyres faded.

Team-mate Steve Richards' weekend was over-shadowed by an incident with Mark Skaife in this morning's opener. The Holden driver out-braked himself into the back of the Castrol FPR Falcon, spinning Richo down to 12th. He recovered to finish seventh and looked good for a podium as he sought to take advantage of the lap one haggling in the second race of the day.

As the pack bunched, Richards went wide at turn three but was again tagged and fell down the order to 18th, eventually finishing 11th.

Mark Winterbottom #5 Orrcon Steel Ford Credit FPR Falcon

'We've got the points ticking away but we'll still be going for race wins! I've got a bit of confidence now. In 2006 (Jason) Bright had the pace on me and in 2007 I had the raw pace but I made a few stupid mistakes. Now I've got the perfect combination and we're leading the championship! We've got a strong car, a strong team; it's all gelling and I feel like this is my time.

'I don't feel the pressure too bad because I've been doing competitive sport since I was five years old. Everything I do is competitive; I thrive it and the pressure. It's great to be leading; it's a privilege and I'm enjoying it.'

Steve Richards #6 Castrol FPR Falcon

'Frosty is the man to beat at the moment. He's got pace and he's consistent; it's going to be very hard for anyone to catch him.

'My race weekend has been a bit disappointing. The car clearly had good pace and as the fuel was going off it was just getting better and better. It seems that every time we make progress we end up having to recover from one situation or another.

'With the Skaife incident, I couldn't see what was going on behind me. All I know is I was on the inside of him and then got a shove from behind. You're already on the edge through that corner so any contact will turn you around.'

Tim Edwards Team Principal

'Nothing surprises me anymore! The team seems to be able to produce a fantastic car for every circuit we go to. Other than a couple of incidents for Steve, he would have been on the podium too.

'A one-hundred point lead means absolutely nothing at this stage though. It has no impact on our approach; we've got to push as hard for the next half of the season as we have for the first.'

V8 Supercar Championship Series Round 7 Queensland Raceway RACE 2
1 Mark Winterbottom #5 Orrcon Steel Ford Credit FPR Falcon
2 Russell Ingall PMM
3 Jamie Whincup 888
4 Garth Tander HRT
5 Will Davison DJR
6 James Courtney SBR
7 Steve Richards #6 Castrol FPR Falcon

V8 Supercar Championship Series Round 7 Queensland Raceway RACE THREE
1 Mark Winterbottom #5 Orrcon Steel Ford Credit FPR Falcon
2 James Courtney SBR
3 Russell Ingall PMM
4 Garth Tander HRT
5 Will Davison DJR
6 Jamie Whincup 888
11 Steve Richards #6 Castrol FPR Falcon

V8 Supercar Championship Series CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS
1 Mark Winterbottom 1694
2 Garth Tander 1572
3 Jamie Whincup 1486
4 Rick Kelly 1312
5 Steve Richards 1299

V8 Supercar Championship Series TEAM POINTS
1 FPR 2993
2 888 2661
3 HRT 2510