Vital points on tough day

30 March 2014

Frosty qualified 13th and raced to 9th

Ford Pepsi Max Crew has claimed vital championship points after a tough final race in Tasmania which saw Frosty through the field to ninth. 

He and team-mate Chaz suffered a difficult qualifying session which hindered the teams ability to contend for its third-straight podium. 

Frosty spent most of the race in close formation with stable-mate David Reynolds and would ultimately finish nose-to-tail despite alternate pit strategies. 

Chaz started further back and while he struggled early in the race his late pace was strong and his 14th place netted him his first Sunday race finish for 2014. 

The team now has a brief two-day window to prepare its car ahead of next weekends Winton 400 FPRs home race.

DRIVERS VIEW
Mark Winterbottom - #5 Pepsi Max FPR Ford:
Qualifying: 13th 
Race: 9th  
It is hard when you are racing in the pack on this track but we didnt have a great day with the car. I did what I could and Grant did a great job with the strategy and gave me some clean air. It isnt a great result but the car is straight and we can now have a couple of days to tune things and get back to the front. We had two podiums this weekend so we have some positive points. I cant wait to go racing again in six days time.

Chaz Mostert - #6 Pepsi Max FPR Ford:
Qualifying: 17th 
Race: 14th  
We started 17th and had a pretty clean race and ended 14th so not a big gain as we didnt quite nail the set-up. Overall it isnt too bad but we just lacked a bit today and we have some homework to do ahead of Winton.

Tim Edwards Team Principal: 
Qualifying where we did was always going to make the race difficult but I think we made the most of our car speed and starting positions to gain some points which will likely be vital later in the year. After yesterdays double podium we are no doubt disappointed with today but with only a few days until we arrive at Winton our focus is squarely on returning to the front next weekend.

TASMANIA 400 RESULTS
RACE 6
1) Craig Lowndes Triple Eight  
2) Jamie Whincup Triple Eight 
3) James Courtney HRT 
4) Will Davison Erebus 
5) Fabian Coulthard Brad Jones Racing
9) Mark Winterbottom Ford Pepsi Max Crew 
14) Chaz Mostert Ford Pepsi Max Crew

DRIVER CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS
1) Craig Lowndes Triple Eight: 532 points
2) Jamie Whincup Triple Eight: 462
3) Fabian Coulthard Brad Jones Racing: 447
4) James Courtney HRT: 429
5) Mark Winterbottom Ford Pepsi Max Crew: 406
22) Chaz Mostert Ford Pepsi Max Crew: 147

- See more at: http://fpr.com.au/news/2014/03/30/vital-points-on-tough-day#sthash.W0v9vdQ3.dpuf