FPR did everything right

31 May 2009

Frosty set the pace on soft tyres

Ford Performance Racing was fastest in Tasmania today as Mark Winterbottom and Steve Richards drove a gritty 84 laps for fourth and 15th respectively

Tyre strategy again provided thrilling V8 Supercar Championship racing with opposing tactics keeping everyone guessing.

Frosty opted for an early stop to find clear air. With no one holding him up, the Orrcon Steel FPR Falcon was consistently lapping under 52 seconds on the soft tyres and had a commanding lead over Jamie Whincup when the 888 Ford finally pitted from P1. 

“Early on I knew I was doing good times,” said Frosty. “The team gave me a target and I was consistently under that..”

A run-in with Greg Murphy on lap 53, however, cost Winterbottom around 20 seconds and he had to make do with fourth. “I thought I was racing for position,” said Frosty. “I didn’t know I had that big-a-gap to Jamie. I was pushing because I didn’t want to get stuck behind people.”

Before that, Murphy had been trading blows with Richo but the Castrol FPR Falcon muscled through on lap 26 to pit a few laps later. The titanic battle continued after the stops, however, with Richo and Murph coming together on lap 46 after Richo’s brakes faded.

 “I wasn’t even trying to pass,” said Richo. ““Once we got stuck behind Murph at the start I couldn’t make any head way; the brakes got too hot and started to fade so I locked the wheels and was just a passenger after that.”

Team Principal, Tim Edwards, saw the positives saying: “As a team we did everything right today; we had the fastest car; we had the right strategy, we had good pit stops but we didn’t have a clean race.

The FPR cars will be back on track for V8 Supercar Championship Series races nine and ten in Darwin from 19-21 June.
 
2009 V8 Supercar Championship Series - Races 7 & 8
SYMMONS PLAINS INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY
Qualifying, Race 8
01. Jamie Whincup, 888, 51.4898
02. Todd Kelly, Kelly Racing, +0.0764
03. Greg Murphy, Tasman, +0.0964
04. Will Davison, HRT, +0.0997
05. Mark Winterbottom, Orrcon Steel FPR Falcon, +0.1292
06. Steve Richards, Castrol FPR Falcon, +0.1490

2009 V8 Supercar Championship Series - Races 7 & 8
SYMMONS PLAINS INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY
Result, Race 8
01. Jamie Whincup, 888

02. Will Davison, HRT

03. Fabian Coulthard, PCR
04. Mark Winterbottom, Orrcon Steel FPR Falcon
05. Lee Holdsworth, GRM
06. Russell Ingall, PMM

15. Steve Richards, Castrol FPR Falcon