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Pole and a podium for FPR

2 May 2009

Pole position for Frosty but no luck in Race 1

Fans were treated to a grandstand finish in today’s V8 Supercar Championship race at Winton Motor Raceway as Steve Richards chased down points leader Jamie Whincup to the chequered flag.

The Castrol FPR Falcon put the new-for-2009 Dunlop ‘sprint’ tyres to excellent use after pitting around lap 10. Richo was blindingly fast on the high-grip, short-life tyre and scythed through the leaders from 10th to third for his first podium of the year.

Given another five laps Richo reckons he could have gone one better. “That would definitely have suited me!” he said. “The car just felt better and better.

“I was surprised at how long the sprint tyres lasted. The good thing was that the front tyres had plenty of grip left at the end, which meant I could have a go at Whincup right up to the chequered flag. I was trying to have a crack but he made it too hard for me.”

Earlier in the day Richo’s team-mate Mark Winterbottom had been in the limelight after again nailing the top-ten shoot-out to earn pole position. The Orrcon Steel FPR Falcon looked good for a podium position until he suffered a puncture whilst coming through slow traffic in the final stages.

“Tomorrow’s another day and getting another pole position shows we’ve got the speed. This run of luck won’t last forever. The team has given me a great car and the strategy was the right call; it was the same as Craig Lowndes used and he won the race!”

Both Ford Performance Racing FG Falcons opted for the same tyre strategy for the 100km race, which saw the introduction of Dunlop’s SP Sport Maxx Sprint tyre. Having used it today, the tyre is now not available for tomorrow’s 200km race, qualifying for which starts at 10.35am.

Supercar Championship Series
WINTON MOTOR RACEWAY
Race 5 Qualifying
01. Mark Winterbottom, Orrcon Steel FPR Falcon, 1:23.0906
02. Garth Tander, HRT, +0.0658
03. Craig Lowndes, 888, +0.0771
04. Jamie Whincup, 888, +0.3679
05. Fabian Coulthard, PCR, +0.3685
06. Michael Caruso, GRM, +0.5079
07. James Courtney, DJR, +0.5292
08. Lee Holdsworth, GRM, +0.5930
09. Todd Kelly, Kelly Racing,+0.6628
10. Steve Richards, Castrol FPR Falcon, +0.7554

Supercar Championship Series - Races
WINTON MOTOR RACEWAY
Race 5 Result
01. Craig Lowndes, 888
02. Jamie Whincup, 888
03. Steve Richards, Castrol FPR Falcon
04. Rick Kelly, Kelly Racing
05. Cameron McConville, BJR
06. Shane Van Gisbergen, SBR
25. Mark Winterbottom, Orrcon Steel FPR Falcon

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