Mark Winterbottom Cops Surfers Paradise Race 4 Win
Ford Performance Racing’s Mark Winterbottom capped off a near-perfect weekend with victory in race four of the Nikon SuperGP at Surfers Paradise.
After pole position in the shootout and a win and two seconds in the first three races, Winterbottom led for most of the final race to take his second victory of the weekend.
Garth Tander and James Courtney were close behind Winterbottom throughout the race but just weren’t quite quick enough to challenge him or each other. Fourth for Jason Bright was a continuation of his result from race three, where he charged up from 20th to eighth, moving up four more places in the final race of the weekend.
Right behind him was Steven Johnson and Jamie Whincup, who, along with his team, put in a remarkable performance to fix his heavily damaged car and then charge through the order from 23rd on the grid.
However, the result didn’t come without incident, with a pass on Jason Bargwanna for ninth resulting in contact between the cars, Bargwanna then losing control of his car on the exit of the corner, hitting Steven Richards, ending both Bargwanna and Richards’s races, with possible repercussion yet to come for Whincup.
“Jamie’s obviously on some sort of mission to wreck everyone’s day out there,” Bargwanna told the Seven network.
“That was just out of control.”
His team-mate Craig Lowndes was also involved in controversy, not all of his own making however. At the start, Lowndes was passed by Winterbottom and Ingall, but went in deep at the first chicane, locking his brakes and hitting Ingall, who also had locked his brakes, with Lowndes and Tander also making contact as Lowndes tried to save the car.
Ingall spun to a standstill as the rest of the field went left, on the track, and right, taking a shortcut through the chicane, to avoid the stationary car. Lap two saw the safety car deployed for no obvious reason, but it then became apparent why it had taken to the track.
It had been apparently decided and explained at the pre-event drivers’ briefing that if an incident occurred at the start and cars took a shortcut through the first chicane, the safety car would be deployed and the field lined back up in original grid order.
Ingall had been forced to pit with water leaking from his car, and fell off the lead lap as his car was repaired.
Where would he start now? Somewhat sensibly, he started at the rear of the field, but several drivers lost ground from where they had been before the safety car went out.
Winterbottom went from first to second despite having been ahead of Lowndes well before the incident started, while further back one of the biggest losers was Whincup, who had moved from 23rd to 15th only to have to move back to 22nd (with Ingall starting at the back).
Things became even more confusing when Lowndes was penalised for his incident at the first chicane which had led to the safety car, Lowndes being penalised for an incident which in some ways had been considered not to have occurred due to the effective voiding of the start with the decision to reshuffle to the grid order.
Pos Driver Make Time
1. Mark Winterbottom Ford Falcon FG 1:16:02.2312
2. Garth Tander Holden Commodore VE + 2.5753
3. James Courtney Ford Falcon FG + 5.9212
4. Jason Bright Ford Falcon FG + 9.6030
5. Steven Johnson Ford Falcon FG + 9.8360
6. Jamie Whincup Ford Falcon FG + 10.2290
7. Greg Murphy Holden Commodore VE + 11.3055
8. Jason Richards Holden Commodore VE + 12.6586
9. Rick Kelly Holden Commodore VE + 12.9420
10. Will Davison Holden Commodore VE + 14.0830
11. Shane Van Gisbergen Ford Falcon FG + 15.4270
12. Lee Holdsworth Holden Commodore VE + 15.8665
13. Craig Lowndes Ford Falcon FG + 22.6679
14. Michael Caruso Holden Commodore VE + 25.4378
15. Todd Kelly Holden Commodore VE + 26.3950
16. Tony D’Alberto Holden Commodore VE + 28.7487
17. Alex Davison Ford Falcon FG + 30.9953
18. Jack Perkins Holden Commodore VE + 31.3396
19. Dean Fiore Holden Commodore VE + 39.9250
20. Paul Dumbrell Holden Commodore VE + 40.1567
21. Tim Slade Holden Commodore VE + 41.2039
22. Mark McNally Holden Commodore VE + 59.5607
Not classified/retirements:
Driver Make Laps
Jason Bargwanna Holden Commodore VE 16
Steven Richards Ford Falcon FG 16
David Reynolds Holden Commodore VE 13
Russell Ingall Holden Commodore VE 7
One wonders at the mentality of the judges and what is driving them.
Pulling a car in for spilling fluid where on previous events it was allowed to go on unchallenged. What was the difference?
Restarting an event then penalising a team for something which obviously could not have happened as the rule of retart was applied, or have I got it wrong? It would appear that there was some very heavy intimidation by some particular team heavies,both on the track and off and have been doing ti for years. I thought bullying was being controlled. Let them take their bat and ball and go home if they so threaten.
It begs of not wanting to have the leading team be leading by such a margin and a crude attempt by the promoters and officials to make the points standing more exciting, especially with Sydney being so over promoted and every likelyhood of not being the success we are being braiwashed it is. I think some of the promoters have a Bernie E complex. Personally, the sport has lost me, and this is someone that has competed(in a small way) and attended motor sport events all over Australia for many years.
Also, Russell Ingall, from the replays we have done, was just as much at fault as Lowndes, Lowndes would not have had to brake so hard if Ingle had not been so hot and passed where did. The penalty of doing was spelt out at the driver briefing. Sure, Lowndes made a bad start, but that is the nature of the beast, but he has been still a very competitive driver over the years.
To the promoters and officials, get your acts together fellas, let’s have some consistency in your decisions and don’t be intimidated when you make unpopular deciscions and don’t let the dollar and self gratification get in the road of common sense.