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Frosty doubles up to reduce gap

Frosty doubles up to reduce gap

5 August 2012

Frosty finishes 2nd in both races

Ford Performance Racing’s Mark Winterbottom claimed second again at Queensland Raceway to further narrow the gap to the championship lead on a day where the team claimed a front row qualifying lockout and two of the top four places.

Winterbottom started second behind pole-sitter Will Davison though a superior start had him leading at turn one.

Despite losing the lead to eventual winner Craig Lowndes he was always in contention and finished a close second. His challenge was slightly spoiled in the closing laps by a complete lack of blue flags which hindered his attempts to catch Lowndes.

Davison lost ground at the start and slipped to fifth, though adjustments at his final stop allowed him to move to fourth which is where he finished.

David Reynolds had another day to forget after a puncture early in the race dropped him to last and a lap down.

From there he circulated in order to claim some points for a weekend blighted by illness and misfortune.

In qualifying FPR took a further step in its quest for speed at Queensland Raceway with Davison claiming his fourth pole of the year in an FPR lockout with Winterbottom second.

The out-of-sorts Reynolds could only manage 13^th as his struggles with illness continued.

DRIVERS’ VIEW
Mark Winterbottom – #5 Orrcon Steel FPR Ford

Practice 5: 21^st – 1m1.32s

Qualifying: 2^nd – 1m09.50s

Race result: 2^nd – Best lap: 1m10.25s
“It was another great day and again the car was fantastic. We tuned it overnight, improved it and won the drag race off the line to get track position. We were only pipped by the guy (Lowndes) that is very dominant here so it shows we have come a long way. To come to our rivals’ home track and reduce the championship lead is a huge effort and a great reward for the team. The blue flags were really disappointing. It took about 30 laps before I saw one and it is an issue we have raised before numerous times so I can’t wait to hear an explanation about why they weren’t putting flags out. We would’ve finished second regardless but nevertheless it needs fixing and fixing soon.”

Will Davison – #6 Tradingpost FPR Ford

Practice 5: 27^th – 1m10.57s

Qualifying: 1^st – 1m09.48s

Race result: 4^th – Best lap: 1m10.35s
“Fourth is better than yesterday’s sixth but it is always disappointing to finish off the podium when you start from pole. Fourth was all we were good for though as we just didn’t have the pace of the front two today. I had massive oversteer early and lost heaps of ground, especially early but then the car came good but it was too late. We didn’t make any mistakes so that was all we could do though there are a few things we can learn so we are taking good points and good lessons away from here.”

David Reynolds – #55 The Bottle-O FPR Ford

Practice 5: 20^th – 1m10.31s

Qualifying: 13^th – 1m09.78s

Race result: 26^th – Best lap: 1m10.42s
“Our weekend was a nightmare from start to finish and I am surprised that I even was able to make it through the races at all given how I am feeling. It is a driver’s worst nightmare to feel like this and unfortunately our results on track were not what we have become accustomed to. We had a puncture in our first stint today and that really ruined our race so there is not much else we could’ve done differently. I’m looking forward to getting better and Sydney Motorsport Park in a few weeks.”

Tim Edwards – FPR Team Principal
“While I am very happy that we’ve come here 12 months on and performed as we did, I am absolutely appalled at the standard of race direction we witnessed in today’s race. The total and utter lack of blue flags in the final part of the race when Mark and Craig (Lowndes) were coming through the backmarkers was disgraceful. With flags I’m sure we would’ve remained second anyway but that is not the point. It needs to be addressed as we don’t want the best championship battle for many years decided by people not applying the basic rules of our sport.”

IPSWICH 300 – RACE 2

RESULTS:

1) Craig Lowndes – Triple Eight

2) Mark Winterbottom – Ford Performance Racing

3) Jamie Whincup – Triple Eight

4) Will Davison – Ford Performance Racing

5) Fabian Coulthard – Brad Jones Racing

26) David Reynolds – Ford Performance Racing

DRIVER CHAMPIONSHIP

1) Jamie Whincup – Triple Eight: 2052 points

2) Mark Winterbottom – Ford Performance Racing: 1970

3) Will Davison – Ford Performance Racing: 1876

4) Craig Lowndes – Triple 8: 1796

5) Shane van Gisbergen – Stone Brothers Racing: 1472

10) David Reynolds – Ford Performance Racing: 1017

TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP

1) Triple Eight: 3873 points

2) Ford Performance Racing: 3846

3) Stone Brothers Racing: 2689

CHAZ PUTS ON DRIVING MASTERCLASS

DUNLOP SERIES – RACE 2 & 3 RESULTS

FPR’s Chaz Mostert put in the drive of his career to ensure he secured outright victory at Queensland Raceway. After being spun out early in the first race he recovered from 24^th to fifth by race end to ensure he started from pole in the final race of the event. The drive was clinical and measured and highlighted his status as a rising star of the sport. In the third and final race of the event he drove away from pole and was a comfortable winner to close the series gap with two wins from three races.

Chaz Mostert – #56 FPR Ford

“Today was pretty challenging early so to come away with the round win and another two race wins from the weekend is a great result for the team. The first race was almost over thanks to a move by Nick (Percat) which was just not on. I was past him and he certainly didn’t make the right decision with his driving. I then had a lot of fun coming back and to get fifth was just amazing. The car was awesome and that allowed me to start from pole. The last race was close but I had enough in reserve to win so it was good to get the result in my home state.”

Results – Race 2:

1) David Russell – Dreamtime Racing

2) Scott McLaughlIn – Fujitsu Racing

3) Ashley Walsh – Simpro Racing

5) Chaz Mostert – Ford Performance Racing

Results – Race 3:

1) Chaz Mostert – Ford Performance Racing

2) Scott Pye – Triple Eight

3) Scott McLaughlIn – Fujitsu Racing

CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS

1) Scott McLaughlIn – Fujitsu Racing: 1090 points

2) Chaz Mostert – Ford Performance Racing: 1052