Chaz charges and Frosty makes progress

28 February 2015

Pepsi Max Crew young gun Chaz Mostert has started the 2015 season on a high with a second place finish in race one on Saturday at the Clipsal 500. 
While race one proved a high for Chaz, a clip on the inside wall at turn eight ended race two early for the young driver.
Mark was not far behind in the first race, gaining seven places to finish fifth after starting in 12th position. 
An eventful  second race saw a battle between Mark and Prodrive Racing team-mate David Reynolds before the Bottle-O Ford driver was spun at turn nine, while Frosty held on to finish 11th. 
DRIVERS’ VIEW
Mark Winterbottom - #5 Pepsi Max PRA Ford: 
Race 1 Result: 5th 
Race 2 Result: 11th 
"Race one was really positive, we gained quite a few places through the course of the race and ended up in the top 10 so I'm happy about that. Race two wasn't quite as good. We tried a couple of things and we were good early but our pit stop didn't help us out too much and then we got some really bad front tyre degradation. We then had a lot of front push so we'll have to have a look over it and have a check but it wasn't the ideal race. It was unfortunate because we did have a pretty good start but sometimes you can't do much and the end result was pretty disappointing."
Chaz Mostert - #6 Pepsi Max PRA Ford:  
Race 1 Result: 2nd 
Race 2 Result: DNF
"I'm really pleased with race one. It was very cool to get second there after starting fourth. We had really good race pace, I wasn't quite matching Jamie but the car felt really good and I was excited to go into that second race even though our starting position wasn't that great down in ninth. I didn't have the best of starts but fought for the first couple of laps and got up behind Tim (Slade) coming into turn eight and didn't quite know where the corner was as it is hard when you're tucked up behind someone's wing. I had to have a bit of a guess where the corner was and made a bit of a mistake and clipped the inside wall and it pushed me out to the outside so a big mistake on my behalf but thank goodness  it's not the Sunday race, it's just the Saturday so the points are a bit lower. As disappointing as it is, it's probably better to have it happen today and have a clean run tomorrow."
Tim Edwards – Team Principal 
"Chaz's podium in the first race was a real high for the team. It was fantastic to get that first podium on the board for the year and in the FG X. The DNF in the second race was pretty disappointing but we have another race tomorrow that we have to be ready for so the focus turns to that. There's work to be done all around so tomorrow will be a big day."
 
CLIPSAL 500 RESULTS – SATURDAY 
RACE 1
1) Jamie Whincup – Triple Eight 
2) Chaz Mostert – Pepsi Max Crew 
3) Fabian Coulthard – Brad Jones Racing
4) Craig Lowndes – Triple Eight
5) Mark Winterbottom – Pepsi Max Crew  
13) David Reynolds – The Bottle-O Racing Team 
22) Andre Heimgartner – Super Black Racing
 
RACE 2
1) Fabian Coulthard – Freightliner Racing
2) James Courtney - HRT 
3) Craig Lowndes – Red Bull Racing Australia 
4) Garth Tander - HRT
5) Jason Bright – Team BOC
11) Mark Winterbottom – Pepsi Max Crew 
17) David Reynolds – The Bottle-O Racing Team
20) Andre Heimgartner – Super Black Racing
DNF) Chaz Mostert – Pepsi Max Crew
DRIVER CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS 
1) Fabian Coulthard – Freightliner Racing: 139
2) Craig Lowndes – Red Bull Racing Australia: 124
3) Garth Tander – Holden Racing Team: 108 
4) James Courtney – Holden Racing Team: 108
5) Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Racing Team: 96
6) Mark Winterbottom – Pepsi Max Crew: 91
12) Chaz Mostert – Pepsi Max Crew: 69
15) David Reynolds – The Bottle-O Racing Team: 60
23) Andre Heimgartner – Super Black Racing:40
TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP
1) Brad Jones Racing: 228 points
2) Triple Eight: 220
3) HRT: 216
4) Pepsi Max Crew: 160

DUNLOP SERIES – CLIPSAL 500 WRAP
Cameron Waters is sitting equal first in the Dunlop Series Championship after taking out second place in race two at the Clipsal 500. After a strong start to the weekend finishing first in race one on Friday, Waters began race two in pole position before losing a spot to Paul Dumbrell at the start. Waters will return to the Dunlop Series for their second round at Perth in May.
Cameron Waters - #5 ENZED PRA Ford:
"I had a really good weekend up until race two where we finished second. In race one we detuned the car a little bit and found out what not to do and then for race two the car was much better but the tyres were a bit off. Paul Dumbrell and I had a pretty good battle which was good fun but the safety car towards the end hurt our race result a little bit but it is what it is. I'm equal on the points so bring on Perth."

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