Ford is back in the winners’ circle and back in V8 Supercars after an emotion-charged two days at the Bathurst 1000.
Ford Performance Racing’s Mark Winterbottom and Steven Richards won Sunday’s 1000 enduro in a nail-biting finish but just as good was confirmation on Saturday that Ford is sticking with V8 Supercars, renewing its sponsorship of the FPR team.
That was great news for the team which has championed the ‘Blue Oval’ fans during sometimes tough times and even as recently as the previous endurance race at Sandown when troublesome wheelnuts caused some embarrassing scenes with chaotic pit-stops.
But all of that was forgotten yesterday when the Pepsi-Max backed team put in a flawless display. Number one driver Winterbottom was ably supported by Richards and the number 5 Falcon was on the pace from the green light.
Helped by obvious straight-line speed, slick pitwork and a smart strategy, Winterbottom and Richards overcame the strong winds which made Mount Panorama even more tricky than usual and also a charge from Red Bull Commodore driver Jamie Whincup in the last 20 laps to post a memorable win.
FPR team-mates Will Davison and Steve Owen never got their number 6 Falcon dialled-in during the race and finished seventh.
There are some who say Whincup is the star driver of V8 Supercars but yesterday Winterbottom showed his class and deserves to be considered on the same page as his rival (the pair have raced each other since junior years).
Pre-race talk centered on question marks about the reliability of the 2013 ‘Car Of The Future’. But in the end, the ‘Car Of The Future’ became the ‘Car Of Today’ with remarkably few mechanical gremlins.
And despite the tricky conditions, yesterday’s Bathurst 1000 was surprisingly free of incidents – the Nissan Altima of David Russell/Todd Kelly sidelined after hitting a Kangaroo (the damage so severe the right-front lower control arm was ripped from the chassis) and Kiwi Greg Murphy crashed the HRT Commodore (in contention at the time) after sliding into a concrete barrier.
Of the newcomers, Mercedes-Benz went one-up on Nissan with the Erebus V8 of Lee Holdsworth/Craig Baird coming home in 14th after a pacey showing. Nissan’s best was James Moffat and Taz Douglas in 18th.
The teams are back in action for the spectacular Gold Coast race in a fortnight and don’t be surprised if the FPR Falcons double-up with victory around the streets of Surfers Paradise. With backing secured from Ford the team can now move forward with certainly and with the Bathurst 1000 trophy in the cupboard, Winterbottom has the ‘monkey of his back’ and we’re expecting big things.
