Pole position in the shoot-out, victory in the first race of the day; everything was going Mark Winterbottom’s way at the Nikon SuperGP today. If not for Garth Tander’s meteoric start in the second race, the Orrcon Steel FPR Falcon would have dominated proceedings at the Surfers Paradise street track.
As it was, Frosty was glad to collect his third surf board trophy in as many years, finishing second in the race and overall despite recovering from glandular fever.
Team-mate Steve Richards got a great start in the morning’s race to run a strong fourth place after qualifying eighth. Several late safety cars, however, put Richo’s brakes under pressure and in the last few laps the Castrol FPR Falcon lost three spots finishing seventh.
The later race saw Richo make up a position to finish sixth after a strong battle with the lead group.
The cars will be back on track tomorrow at 09:15 for qualifying.
Mark Winterbottom - Orrcon Steel FPR Falcon
“I feel a bit ordinary but a win has definitely made me feel better! To go out and do it the way we did then is a nice start to the weekend; I’m rapt.
“There were a few challenges with the safety cars in this morning’s race and in the second race we lost the start; Tander was pretty quick.
“Second is good; if you had said that three days ago I would have jumped at it! We’ve had a year where we’ve shown some speed but haven’t had the results we should have so it’s great to take home a surf board.
“I don’t feel the best but I’ll deal with that Sunday night; we’ll soldier on.”
Steve Richards - Castrol FPR Falcon
“You couldn’t pass so you’ve just got to manage your brakes and wait for an opportunity. All you can do is try and keep the pressure on. The car was good enough but you’re just stuck. It’s a single-line race track here once the brakes get too hot.
“When I was following Will [Davison] in the first race I kept dropping back for my brakes to cool off and then Will’s would fade so I would press on but never really got in a position to be able to pass.
“After the last safety car my rear tyres were very cold and didn’t come up to temperature at all; I went over the chicane basically out of control and Lowndes fired up the inside."
See also
- Winterbottom fires: Ingall fires up in V8 Supercars
- Sprint Gas Racing backs up Bathurst performance
2009 Nikon SuperGP Races 19 & 20 V8 Supercar Series
SURFERS PARADISE STREET CIRCUIT
Top 10 Shootout
1. M Winterbottom, Orrcon Steel FPR Falcon, 1:50.9325*
2. Garth Tander, HRT, +0.2940
3. Jamie Whincup, 888, +0.4733
4. Jason Bright, Fujitsu Racing, +0.6225
5. Will Davison, HRT, +0.7386
6. Paul Dumbrell, TWR, +0.8341
7. Craig Lowndes, 888, +0.9080
8. Steven Richards, Castrol FPR Falcon, +1.7613
Race 19 - Part A
1. Mark Winterbottom, Orrcon Steel FPR Falcon
2. Garth Tander, HRT
3. Will Davison, HRT
4. Craig Lowndes, 888
5. Shane Van Gisbergen, SBR
6. Greg Murphy, Tasman
7. Steve Richards, Castrol FPR Falcon
Race 19 - Part
1. Garth Tander, HRT
2. Mark Winterbottom, Orrcon Steel FPR Falcon
3. Will Davison, HRT
4. Craig Lowndes, 888
5. Greg Murphy, Tasman
6. Steve Richards, Castrol FPR Falcon
