''We'll come back stronger' says Frosty'

Frosty gets a puncture on Lap 2

Bad luck has not dampened the spirits of V8 Supercar Championship Series leader Mark Winterbottom, who suffered a puncture on lap two of today's race at Winton Motor Raceway.

Frosty went nearly 0.4s faster than Jamie Whincup to set pole for Ford Performance Racing earlier in the day. A clean start came to nothing, however, as cars filed past the Orrcon Steel Ford Credit FPR Falcon on lap two thanks to a slow puncture picked up from track debris.

Frosty came in for a tyre change as soon as the pit window opened but rejoined dead last, managing to claw his way back to 21st over 40 laps.

Team-mate Steve Richards was once again caught out by some over-ambitious passing manoeuvres from fellow drivers. It saw the #6 Castrol FPR Falcon drop to 12th from 6th on the grid but the team pulled off a sensational pit stop strategy to move Richo up to fifth.

Race two gets underway at 10:55 tomorrow.

Mark Winterbottom #5 Orrcon Steel Ford Credit FPR Falcon
'I knew on lap two I was in trouble but what can you do? They beat us when we had a problem and they'll be happy but they didn't genuinely beat us.

'We'll come out tomorrow and get some points because you've got to make the best of a bad situation; it's not the last round and there's plenty of points still to be had.

'They'll be licking their lips but it's a good thing they get excited when we go bad because it shows we're getting to them!'

Steve Richards #6 Castrol FPR Falcon
'I got hit off the road again for the umpteenth time this year and it's really beginning to get on my nerves! We went long on pit strategy to try and jump the cars that jumped us and came out wheel to wheel with Jason [Richards] in fifth. We had the pace on him but not enough to get past.

'Starting fifth is better than sixth but I've got to get through that first corner without being served up; that's my main aim tomorrow!'

Tim Edwards Team Principal
'We clearly had the fastest cars out there today but what with one car being punted at the first corner and the other getting a puncture on lap two, things didn't go our way. Richo still has a realistic shot for the podium because he fought back to get a top five position and we'll just have to be a little bit clever with Frosty's pit strategy to get him some clear track. Hopefully he'll get back into the top ten in race two and we'll see how we go for race three.'

2008 V8 Supercar Championship Series - Round 8 QUALIFYING
1 Mark Winterbottom #5 Orrcon Steel Ford Credit FPR Falcon 1:22.9727
2 Jamie Whincup 888 +0.3972
3 Will Davison DJR +0.4223
4 Garth Tander HRT +0.4417
5 Lee Holdsworth GRM +0.4516
6 Steve Richards #6 Castrol FPR Falcon +0.4924

V8 Supercar Championship Series Round 8 Queensland Raceway RACE ONE
1 Jamie Whincup 888
2 Will Davison DJR
3 Garth Tander HRT
4 Jason Richards Tasman
5 Steve Richards #6 Castrol FPR Falcon
6 Lee Holdsworth GRM
21 Mark Winterbottom #5 Orrcon Steel Ford Credit FPR Falcon