Frosty kerb struck from potential podium

17 April 2018

Frosty received a pit lane penalty while sitting in 4th place.

Former Supercars champion Mark Winterbottom led Tickford Racing’s Friday at the Adelaide 500, on a trying afternoon that saw fortune swing away from the team on multiple occasions throughout the day.

Winterbottom placed fourth in Race 1 qualifying, guaranteeing him a spot in his fifth straight Top Ten Shootout dating back to Townsville 2017. Garage mate Chaz Mostert was next in line for the Tickford Racing quartet qualifying 12th, after seeing a lap projected to put him on provisional pole was cancelled when red flags waved for an incident on track before the No. 55 Supercheap Auto Ford crossed the timing line. Newcomer Richie Stanaway qualified 16th in his first Supercars qualifying session, the best of all rookies despite having never lapped the Adelaide circuit before this morning’s first practice session.

Tickford Racing brought home a pair of top five finishes on Sunday’s Race 2 at the Adelaide 500, but a pit lane penalty dampened the day, ending a potential podium run for Mark Winterbottom (No. 5 The Bottle-O Ford Falcon FG X) in the second race of the 2018 Supercars season.

Chaz Mostert (No. 55 Supercheap Auto Ford Falcon FG X) followed up a seventh on Saturday with fourth place on Sunday. Cameron Waters (No. 6 Monster Energy Ford Falcon FG X) rounded out the top five, ending his weekend strong after a hard crash in Friday practice.

After qualifying fifth in the Tickford Racing 5-6-7 (with Waters and Mostert), Frosty was black flagged for crossing the Turn 2 kerb too many times – an allegation he vehemently disagreed with – and was issued the PLP on Lap 56. Richie Stanaway (No. 56 Tickford/MEGA Fuels Ford Falcon FG X) also received a PLP, for an unsafe release following a Lap 51 pit stop, which took him from contention of a top 15. Winterbottom finished 13th, while Stanaway collected his first championship points as a main game driver in 20th.

The team head back to Victoria for the only multi-week break between races until the end of May. Supercars competition resumes March 22-25 with the Melbourne 400 at the Australian Grand Prix, the category’s first championship races in support of the Formula One season opener.

DRIVERS’ VIEW

No. 5 The Bottle-O Ford Falcon FG X
Mark Winterbottom
Top Ten Shootout: 5th, 1m20.12s
Finished: 13th
“You put your hand up when you do the wrong thing and stuff like that, but I was losing three tenths a lap going around that kerb, and the blokes in front of me were smashing it, going faster and driving away. I knew I had the warning so I was driving around it. I’m pretty confident I had two wheels on the track, so I don’t know how I got the penalty. It’s been judged by how you hit the kerb, not where your wheels are placed where the rules are how the wheels are placed not how you hit the kerb, so pretty confused by that. But a positive weekend, we were on for two top fives, and came back with a straight car. It’s nice to be running at the front, but I’m pretty pissed off.”

 

Tim Edwards, Team Principal

“It was a good day for Chaz and Cam, they did what they needed to do and scored good points for the team, but what happened to Mark is very frustrating. Taking away a good run even though other guys were visibly going further over the line is disappointing to say the least. While it’s good to see two of our drivers in the top five, there should be three, and it’s a shame because Frosty had a decent chance at the podium today. Not a bad day for the team but it should be much better.”

DRIVERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP
1) Shane van Gisbergen – 300 points
2) David Reynolds – 258
3) James Courtney – 240
4) Chaz Mostert – 216
5) Scott McLaughlin – 207
8) Mark Winterbottom – 177
9) Cameron Waters – 168
25) Richie Stanaway – 45

TEAMS’ CHAMPIONSHIP
1) Walkinshaw-Andretti-United – 408 points
2) Triple Eight Engineering – 402
3) Tickford Racing (5/55)- 393
9) Tickford Racing (6/56) – 213