More to come from FPR at the Island

19 May 2012

Frosty P10 after multiple red flags in practice

Ford Performance Racing has endured a frustrating day at Phillip Island despite David Reynolds topping the final session as red flags made it hard to find any meaningful clean laps.

Reynolds finished the day third-fastest on combined times, while Davison was fifth in the last session and Winterbottom 10^th.

Despite finishing further down the order, Winterbottom is very happy with the overall set-up and feel of his factory Falcon and set a time after the chequered flag which was good enough for a top three slot.

Davison is less content and will spend time with his engineers in order to find more speed and a better set-up.

Earlier in the day the team’s three endurance race co-drivers gained valuable additional seat time in both the co-driver only ‘Practice 0’ and Practice 1.

Steve Richards (Mark Winterbottom), John McIntyre (Will Davison) and Dean Canto (David Reynolds) all drove in their respective cars.

Canto and Richards finished 1-2 in the first session, while McIntyre was consistent with sixth and seventh places in his two outings.

DRIVERS’ VIEW

Mark Winterbottom – #5 Orrcon Steel FPR Ford

Practice 0: 1m35.07s – 2^nd (Richards)

Practice 1: 1m35.36s – 18^th (Richards)

Practice 2: 1m34.66s – 11^th

Practice 3: 1m34.61s – 10^th

“It has been a good day albeit a long one. The car has been great all day and has done what we wanted during the different sessions which is encouraging considering we didn’t use anywhere near our best tyres. I am pretty happy especially given my best lap didn’t get recorded as it came after the chequered flag. Tomorrow is when it all counts and until everyone puts on their good tyres in the session before qualifying we won’t really know where we are but for now I am pretty happy with things.”

Will Davison – #6 Tradingpost FPR Ford

Practice 0: 1m35.39s – 6^th (McIntyre)

Practice 1: 1m34.46s – 7^th (McIntyre)

Practice 2: 1m34.79s – 14^th

Practice 3: 1m34.33s – 5^th

”John (McIntyre) had two great sessions which was handy for him as he got some good laps under his belt. For me it wasn’t a very big day as we only had two 20-minute sessions with a lot of oil on the track plus some red flag periods so it wasn’t very constructive. I wasn’t particularly comfortable with the car and want to work on a few things so we are ready for tomorrow morning’s practice session. The car didn’t roll out as I’d like but with some time tonight we’ll get on top of things before qualifying.”

David Reynolds – #55 The Bottle-O FPR Ford

Practice 0: 1m35.04s – 1^st (Canto)

Practice 1: 1m34.28s – 5^th (Canto)

Practice 2: 1m34.05s – 4^th

Practice 3: 1m33.82s – 1^st

“Dean (Canto) did a good job early and we tried a few things when he was in the car. Then I jumped in and due to the red flags did not get too many laps in which was disappointing. We made a good change and that improved the car midway through the last session so I think we will be well placed for tomorrow.”

Tim Edwards – FPR Team Principal

“It has been a busy day for the team with all three cars running in all four sessions so the crew has been hard at it. Our co-drivers were quick and consistent from the outset and gained valuable seat time while also providing good data for the regular drivers. The afternoon was a bit hit and miss with the red flags but Dave had his usual Friday pace, Mark is content and while Will feels he needs improvement he is not far off on the timesheets.”

EVENT NAME: Phillip Island 300

DATE: 18-20 May

LOCATION: Phillip Island, Victoria

EVENT NUMBER: 5 of 15

FORMAT: Friday – 4 x practice sessions; Saturday – 1 x practice session, 1 x 20-minute qualifying, 1 x 32-lap race; Sunday – 1 x practice session, 1 x 20-min qualifying, 1 x 45-lap race

CIRCUIT: Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit

LENGTH: 4.44-kilometres

DESCRIPTION: Phillip Island is the venue of FPR’s first round victory in 2003. The track combines fast straights with double-apex, radial and hairpin turns, providing a challenging combination. The circuit is also one of the most picturesque on the calendar and offers a range of elevation changes across the lap. ‘The Island’ also offers excellent vantage points for spectators.

TRACK RECORD: 1m32.07s – Craig Lowndes (1999), qualifying

FPR BEST RESULT AT PHILLIP ISLAND: 1^st – Mark Winterbottom, 2006