Newcastle Driver Thoughts

4 December 2018

Frosty's thoughts on The Finale for 2018

Entering the final event of the 2018 Virgin Australia Supercars season, Tickford Racing concludes the year with a number of storylines at this weekend’s Newcastle 500. Foremost will be the Ford Falcon’s final Supercars round, as Tickford and other Ford teams will run Ford Mustangs in the top level series from 2019. The Falcon, legendary in Australian motorsport, has been the only model Tickford Racing has ever raced, amassing 72 race wins and 81 poles over 16 race seasons. 

In what will be his final outing with Tickford Racing, Mark Winterbottom (No. 5 The Bottle-O Ford Falcon FG X) is looking to secure a happy ending to the team and driver partnership that has lasted 13 years. Winterbottom scored provisional pole at Newcastle in the Sunday race last year. 

DRIVERS’ VIEW
No. 5 The Bottle-O Ford Falcon FG X
Mark Winterbottom
“It’s going to be an emotional weekend, for sure, but we’ve got races to win so my focus is still 100% on performing on track. We’ve had a good car the last couple rounds, so if we can put it together there’s no reason we can’t come out of the weekend with some good results. Really my highlight of 2017 was getting provisional pole there, I know we can be quick and hopefully we’ll be quick again. This team has been home for 13 years and we’ve had a lot of success together, so we both want to make it a happy ending, and I definitely want to finish things off here with a trophy.” 

DRIVERS’ VIEW
No. 5 The Bottle-O Ford Falcon FG X
Mark Winterbottom
Practice 1: 1m11.91s, 24th
Practice 2: 1m11.00s, 15th
“I’m looking forward to trying to make the car a bit quicker. We’re struggling for front end grip, on corner exits I’m kind of facing the wall or driving towards the wall, not away from it, so I just need front grip out of the car. We proved last year, from Saturday to Sunday, that a small gain can make for a big gain in lap time, so a small change can make a big difference. We can see it in the data, it’s just up to the guys to find a solution and we back it. Tomorrow’s quali, so we’ll put some tyres on, and that unknown, weather, all that stuff is on tomorrow, and hopefully we can finish off better than we did today.” 

DRIVERS’ VIEW
No. 5 The Bottle-O Ford Falcon FG X
Mark Winterbottom
Race 30 Quali: 1m11.38s, 22nd
Race 30 Finish: 6th
“We lucked into strategy, really. Brendan (Hogan) did a good job with strategy, which was good. To climb from 22nd to sixth, you can’t be disappointed in that. The car speed’s not there, but we saved fuel well, got the car in a good position, and brought it home. It’s a good turnaround from where we were, but I’m not getting carried away. We’ve got to work hard to get back up there tomorrow.” 

DRIVERS’ VIEW
No. 5 The Bottle-O Ford Falcon FG X
Mark Winterbottom
Race 31 Quali: 1m10.99s, 18th
Top Ten Shootout: n/a
Race 31 Finish: 13th
“We moved forward again today which was good, but we didn’t have the pace to do much more today. It’s a frustrating way to end it, but more than anything I’m just glad for 13 great seasons with this team. We’ve had our highs and lows, but Tickford has been my home for the majority of my career, it’s a bit sad to see it come to an end. I’m excited for the future, but I’m very thankful for all we’ve been able to accomplish together during my time here.”