FPR Needs To Dig Deep

Tough day for Frosty after receiving a drive thru penalty

Ford Performance Racing has an uphill battle this weekend after today's chaotic first race saw V8 Supercar Championship Series contender Mark Winterbottom finish a distant 21st in Bahrain.

The Orrcon Steel Ford Credit FPR Falcon had a troubled race from the start after a mechanical issue saw Frosty qualify ninth. A tardy safety car deployment then caused an upset on lap 12, when it allowed three back markers to gain significant track position.

Fired up, Frosty was flying after the restart and soon had championship rival Garth Tander in his sights. The encounter ended in disaster, however, when Frosty and Tander came together on lap 17 resulting in a drive-through penalty for the FPR driver.

Team-mate Steve Richards was struggling with for pace but managed to stay out of trouble to finish eighth.

Race two of the Gulf Air Desert 400 will start tomorrow at 11:00 local time (19:00 EDST)

Mark Winterbottom Orrcon Steel Ford Credit FPR Falcon
Speaking of the collision with Tander: 'There's not much you can do; you try your best to stop. I could have rolled off the brake and banged into him [Garth Tander] but I almost came to a full stop trying to miss him. If I had whacked him up the arse then it would be cut and dry but he was slow when I was trying to pass him. I tried my best to miss him.'

Steve Richards Castrol FPR Falcon
'At the moment we're just not competitive enough and we have to swallow our pride and have a look at why we haven't been as consistent as we usually are. We just have to dig deep; there are still two races this weekend and two rounds of the championship left so loads of points still up for grabs. We can't right this weekend off; we have to make the cars better and keep pressing on.'

Tim Edwards Team Principal
'It's going to be an uphill slog from here. Regardless of the championship, we want to be competitive in every race, not just because we're in the championship hunt. We need to understand the problems with our car; we need to find our mojo!'

Gulf Air Desert 400 2008 V8 Supercar Championship round 12 Bahrain International Circuit
QUALIFYING
1. Jamie Whincup, 888, 1:25.0415
2. Craig Lowndes, 888, +0.0209
3. Todd Kelly, Perkins Motorsport, +0.1141
4. Steven Johnson, DJR, +0.3459
5. Garth Tander, HRT, +0.3701
6. Will Davison, DJR, +0.4066
7. Russell Ingall, PMM, +0.4321
8. Steve Richards, Castrol FPR Falcon, +0.4699
9. Mark Winterbottom, Orrcon Steel Ford Credit FPR Falcon, +0.5552

Gulf Air Desert 400 2008 V8 Supercar Championship round 12 Bahrain International Circuit
RACE ONE
1. Jamie Whincup, 888
2. Craig Lowndes, 888
3. Lee Holdsworth, GRM
4. Russell Ingall, PMM
5. James Courtney, SBR
6. Steven Johnson, DJR
7. Shane Van Gisbergen, SBR
8. Steve Richards, Castrol FPR Falcon
21. Mark Winterbottom, Orrcon Steel Ford Credit FPR Falcon