Davo benefits from Frostys misfortune

Frosty quick but no trophy!

Fords Pepsi Max Crew driver Will Davison has finished second in the dramatic final race of Saturdays ITM Auckland 400 while team-mate Mark Winterbottom endured a disheartening day with two possible wins taken away in separate incidents.

RACE 6
Mark started from the front row and led by the end of lap one where he began to build a comfortable buffer over the field. He led easily until lap 11 when a tyre delamination forced him to pit for new rubber and repairs to his left-rear bodywork which was damaged in the incident. The ensuing safety car bunched the field and after the restart Will continued his rise through the field. He started 11th and after executing a number of passes finished the race seventh, one place ahead of stable mate David Reynolds. Mark recovered to 19th in a storming finish after dropping as low as 26th. 

RACE 7
Will started one place ahead of Mark on the second row and despite dropping behind Garth Tander on lap one, Mark was back to fifth and chasing Will by lap four. A safety car bunched the field and on the restart around half distance Mark passed Will before the safety car was again deployed. At the next restart they passed Craig Lowndes who ran off and several laps later Mark was second and focussed on Whincup in the lead. He rapidly closed and made a passing move on the final lap only for the pair to make contact which spun Mark out of the podium spots. Will took advantage of the skirmish to finish second while Mark crossed the line 13th after the clash.

DRIVERS VIEW
Mark Winterbottom - #5 Pepsi Max FPR Ford:
Qualifying: 3rd 
Shootout: 2nd 
Race 6: 19th 
Qualifying: 5th 
Race 7: 13th 
I had a really good day with car speed but things didnt turn out the way Id hoped. The first race was disappointing with the tyre issue but I knew after that we would have a good car for the second race. Once I cleared everyone and got up to second I chased Whincup down and caught him easily. On the last lap I thought Id have a go at passing him, but it unfortunately didnt pay off and we missed out again.

Will Davison - #6 Pepsi Max FPR Ford:
Qualifying: 11th 
Race 6: 7th 
Qualifying: 4th  
Race 7: 2nd 
I am pretty satisfied with today. We are making great headway with the new cars and we improved our pace from practice to qualifying and then even from one qualifying session to the other. The first session was disappointing but being on row two helped massively for the second race. Ultimately we werent the quickest but clearly Frosty is flying and we shouldve had both cars on the podium today. We have scored good points and with some more gains overnight and two good qualifying runs in the morning I am confident we will be battling for wins tomorrow.

Tim Edwards FPR Team Principal: 
Weve certainly had some wild racing but as a team weve had quick cars and weve been in the hunt all day. Will should be pleased with second in todays final race as he battled hard yet cleanly with Mark and deserved his podium. Marks day does not show on paper just how dominant he was. His race one issue was just motorsport and its cruellest, though in race two he showed that he is not afraid to take the race on. Fair enough, the move on Jamie (Whincup) didnt stick but he wanted to win, he was motivated to give it a go and I think people are taking notice of that. It will be important to qualify high up tomorrow so we can make the most of our race pace.

ITM AUCKLAND 400
RACE 6 RESULTS:
1) Scott McLaughlin Garry Rogers Motorsport
2) Jason Bright Brad Jones Racing
3) Craig Lowndes Triple Eight
4) Shane van Gisbergen Tekno 
5) Fabian Coulthard Brad Jones Racing 
7) Will Davison Pepsi Max Crew FPR
19) Mark Winterbottom Pepsi Max Crew FPR

RACE 7 RESULTS:
1) Jamie Whincup Triple Eight 
2) Will Davison Pepsi Max Crew FPR
3) Garth Tander HRT
4) Jason Bright Brad Jones Racing
5) David Reynolds The Bottle-O Racing Team
13) Mark Winterbottom Pepsi Max Crew FPR

DRIVER CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS
1) Jamie Whincup Triple Eight: 601 points
2) Will Davison Pepsi Max Crew FPR: 567 
3) Craig Lowndes Triple Eight: 489
9) Mark Winterbottom Pepsi Max Crew FPR: 414

TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS
1) Triple Eight: 1090 points
2) Pepsi Max Crew FPR: 981
3) HRT: 884