Asian Motor Sports

Mark Winterbottom had a comfortable win at Barbagallo Raceway Saturday, racking up his seventh V8 Supercar Championship Series victory for Ford Performance Racing. “We thought we’d go well here but weren’t sure how well because it’s traditionally a Holden circuit,” said the #5 Orrcon Ford Credit FPR driver. “In the end it went pretty smoothly!”

The 26-year-old led from pole position to chequered flag in the 50-lap race, moving him from fourth to third in the championship standings, within reach of leader Rick Kelly.

“It’s always easier when you’re in front with an open track,” said Frosty. “Mark Skaife got a good launch off the grid and we were side-by-side into the first corner. After that I just had to get my head down and do some good times.

“In the past we’ve had pretty average starts to the season but finished strongly. Going into Phillip Island and Bathurst we need to be in the hunt and at the moment we are; it’s all about positioning.”

Team-mate Steve Richards had a thrilling race, jammed between Garth Tander and Craig Lowndes. Despite registering consistently faster laps than third-place Tander, Richo was unable to find a way past the HRT driver but is happy with the result, which consolidates FPR’s position as the championship’s leading team.

“I definitely had a good car,” said Richo, who drives the #6 Castrol FPR Falcon. “It got better and better as the race went on and Tander was definitely holding me up quite significantly. A couple of laps from the end he made a bit of a blue, which gave me a look up the inside into turn two, but he just wasn’t slow enough in the right places for me to make the pass.

“Craig Lowndes wasn’t a problem. He only had the pace when Tander made a bit of a mistake and held me up. He couldn’t run at our pace.”

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