Frosty fights to row two and three

Ford Pepsi Max Crews Mark Winterbottom will start the opening two races of the season on row two and three after a fighting effort in qualifying for the Clipsal 500.

His third and fifth places were hard-fought after battling to find a suitable set-up all day.

New team-mate Chaz Mostert starts his first races for the team from 11th and 10th respectively after a concerted gradual build-up to his new surroundings.

Mark Winterbottom - #5 Pepsi Max FPR Ford:

It is pretty tough out there and there is no hiding behind the fact we are working pretty hard. We aren't quite there so we have work to do to improve. Session two was a bit harder and for me the car isn't quite sure under brakes. I can explain the issue calmly out of the car but inside it is not the easiest as there are plenty of concrete walls that get nice and close. P3 and P5 are reasonable positions so it isn't too bad. Despite my issues it was nice for the sport to have all the brands in the top part of the grid.

Chaz Mostert - #6 Pepsi Max FPR Ford:

We ended 11th and 10th so it wasn't too bad being around the top 10 which is a good start. We just didn't quite get on top of things and whether that was the car or my driving I don't know. I think we have tuned it to be a good race car for tomorrow and we have longs races to come so that will help us. Overall our car was pretty balanced so I think we should be pretty good come race time.

Tim Edwards Team Principal:

We certainly didn't roll out of the truck as well as expected but today was our first day of dry weather running since early December so we had a few things to work through and now know the areas we must focus on. All the drivers had a clean, issue-free day which helps as the crew can now dedicate their time to tuning the cars as required so we can maximise our points as possible in tomorrows two races.