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Mark Winterbottom wins Barry Sheene

Mark Winterbottom wins Barry Sheene

4 December 2012

Frosty wins the best and fairest award

MARK Winterbottom has set aside his near miss in the V8 Supercar Championship with his first Barry Sheene Medal at the Gala Awards at Star City in Sydney tonight.

After a year of highs and lows that resulted in him finishing third to Jamie Whincup and Craig Lowndes in the championship, Winterbottom joined a select few by becoming V8 Supercars best and fairest driver as voted by the media.

In a close contest, Winterbottom finished on 18 votes with three-time recipient Lowndes on 16, tied with emerging star and the ever popular David Reynolds, who was second to Whincup and Paul Dumbrell at this year’s Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000.

“It’s a great honour, it does somewhat make up for the year that was,” said Winterbottom.

“To be recognised by the media as not only a competitive driver but one that has their respect is a nice thing to know after what was a solid but frustrating year in the way it turned out.

“It has been a challenging year with the ups and downs that have made the difference between fighting for the championship or second and third.

"I clearly had a shot, a real good chance, but just couldn't get there. They (TeamVodafone) just did a better job and we'll have to lift again next year. It hurts but there's nothing you can do about it. You just have to move on."

Foundation Chairman Tony Cochrane became the first non-driver to be included in the Hall of Fame for his contribution in building the sport for the past 17 years.

Cochrane had been Executive Chairman and the driving force behind V8 Supercars since its inception in 1996 before stepping down from his role as Executive Chairman in September.

James Strong was announced as Non-Executive Chairman of V8 Supercars last week.

In the other awards, Monster Energy/Triple Eight Race Engineering driver Scott Pye won the coveted Mike Kable Young Gun Award as the rookie of the year following his success in finishing runner-up in the Dunlop Series.

Fujitsu Racing’s Scott McLaughlin collected his trophy for victory in the Dunlop Series development category, which he sealed yesterday by finishing third in the final race of the season at Sydney Olympic Park.

Tradingpost FPR’s Will Davison claimed the $20,000 ARMOR ALL Pole Position Award, breaking a four-year winning streak of Champion Whincup.

Holden won the Manufacturers Award following their dominant season with TeamVodafone claiming 19 of the 30 races wins in the last time that Holden and Ford will exclusively square off against one another due to the arrival of Nissan and AMG Mercedes-Benz racecars next year.

The Award Recipients:

Hall of Fame Inductee:
Tony Cochrane

Best Volunteers Group:
Dick Smith Sandown 500

Event of the Year:
Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000

ARMOR ALL Pole Position Award:
Will Davison (Ford Performance Racing)

ARMOR ALL Best Presented Team Award:
TeamVodafone

Champion Manufacturer of the Year:
GM Holden

Most Improved Award:
Car #55 - David Reynolds & The Bottle-O Racing Team

Privateers Cup:
Luke Youlden (MW Motorsport)

Mike Kable Young Gun Award:
Scott Pye (Triple Eight Race Engineering)

Dunlop Series Champion:
Scott McLaughlin (Fujitsu Racing)

Bathurst Champions:
Jamie Whincup & Paul Dumbrell (TeamVodafone)