Consolidation day in NZ

7 November 2015

Frosty finishes 7th and 4th

The Pepsi Max Crew consolidated its lead in the driver and team standings on the first day of racing in New Zealand as Mark Winterbottom had a quiet yet trouble-free day at Pukekohe.

Driver points leader Frosty enjoyed a quiet run to fourth as he extended his gap to 287 points with team-mate David Reynolds’ win in the final race of the day and the unfortunate exit of fellow title contender Craig Lowndes with a heavy crash due to a punctured tyre.

Chaz substitute Cameron Waters finished 12th after starting 10th and enjoyed battles with the category’s most experienced and fiercest competitors as he continues his learning experience. 

In the first race Frosty ran trouble-free to seventh, while Cam was involved in a few battles in the rear of the pack. He eventually finished one place ahead of where he started in 17th. 

His solo race debut saw him originally qualify 14th before having to serve a four-place grid penalty and drop to 18th due to contact in qualifying. 


Mark Winterbottom - #5 Pepsi Max PRA Ford: 
Race 28 Quali:
 8th 
Race 28 Result: 7th  
Race 29 Quali: 6th 
Race 29 Result: 4th 
"We need to qualify better but if we can get up the front, I think we showed in that last race, we can be in the hunt which is important. It was a bit of an up and down day, things looked promising yesterday and we went backwards but we have a good idea of things and can make changes tonight. It was good to see Dave win, he fought hard. On a tough day a seventh and fourth places are reasonable, so we’ll tune it up, get up the front and that will make the racing easier than it was today.”

Cameron Waters - #6 Pepsi Max PRA Ford:  
Race 28 Quali:
 18th  
Race 28 Result: 17th 
Race 29 Quali: 9th 
Race 29 Result: 12th 
"It was a big day today with two qualifying sessions and two races – that was a first for me. We improved the car all day which was good. I had a little altercation in qualifying with Ash Walsh which I didn’t think was my fault but the officials believed otherwise. That dropped me down four spots but I certainly learnt a lot racing that far back. On the soft tyre I had a quicker car than those around me but it was hard to pass so we ended pretty much where we started.”


Tim Edwards – Team Principal 
"It was a day of mixed results but obviously a very consistent performance from David ensured we move to a 1-2 position in the driver championship. We had a bit of luck to make that happen but in motorsport or any sport you have to take the cards you’re dealt. We’re certainly very pleased with a win and another podium. Mark has consolidated his lead which was also important but as we’ve seen today anything can happen so we’ll be ensuring our preparation is very detailed ahead of Sunday’s crucial 200km race.”


ITM 500 AUCKLAND RESULTS – SATURDAY 
RACE 28

1) Jamie Whincup – Triple Eight
2) Shane Van Gisbergen – Tekno 
3) David Reynolds – The Bottle-O Racing Team 
4) Craig Lowndes – Triple Eight
5) Scott Pye – DJR Team Penske
7) Mark Winterbottom – Prodrive Racing 
17) Cameron Waters – Prodrive Racing

RACE 29
1) David Reynolds – The Bottle-O Racing Team 
2) Jamie Whincup – Triple Eight
3)  Scott McLaughlin – Garry Rogers Motorsport
4) Mark Winterbottom – Pepsi Max Crew 
5) Shane van Gisbergen – Tekno 
12) Cameron Waters – Prodrive Racing


DRIVER CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS 
1) Mark Winterbottom – Prodrive Racing: 2707

2) David Reynolds – The Bottle-O Racing Team: 2420
3) Craig Lowndes – Triple Eight: 2401
4) Garth Tander – HRT: 2219
5) Shane van Gisbergen – Tekno: 2185
7) Chaz Mostert – Pepsi Max Crew (injured): 2017
36) Cameron Waters – Pepsi Max Crew: 439

TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP
1) Prodrive Racing: 4837

2) HRT: 4421
3) Triple Eight: 4372

- See more at: http://www.prodriveracing.com.au/news/2015/11/07/consolidation-day-in-nz#sthash.wtwafsJr.dpuf

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