Ford set for Winter Wonderland at Winton V8's
14/8/2004 14:36 (Press Release) -
The combination of freezing cold air temperatures and hot racing action will be the order of the day for the seventh round of the V8 Supercar Championship Series at Winton Motor Raceway at the foothills of the Victoria Alps this weekend (July 23 - 25).
With southeastern Australia having been blasted with freezing cold winds, there's little wonder that the nearby Victorian snowfields are declaring a record season for skiers. For V8 Supercar racing it means low track temperatures and poor grip on the friendly confines of the three-kilometre rural circuit outside Benalla.
Add to this a single 300km race and the Winton round becomes a critical round in the 2004 championship chase.
Defending Winton winner and V8 Supercar Champion Marcos Ambrose (Pirtek Racing), goes into this weekend with a handy lead in the championship, but it will a contrast to the warm temperatures experienced at Queensland Raceway where he won three weeks ago.
“We will be driving a Falcon V8 Supercar and contesting just the one race, but from there it's all different,” said Ambrose.
“Earlier in the year we were all complaining about wearing the extra layer of underwear to protect us against fire, this weekend I'm pretty keen to get a few layers on!
“The track itself is tricky, as the circuit changing depending on such things as temperature. We've proved in the past that we can get a handle on it. There are a lot of points up for grabs and a win at Winton would be a big bonus in defending the championship.
“100 laps around Winton are very tough. There are only short straights, so you are constantly working the steering wheel and that takes it out of you.
“We're ready for the challenge, whether it's the competition or the weather itself.”
A number of Ford drivers have good records at Winton. Included in this group are two-time winners Russell Ingall (Caltex Havoline Racing), Glenn Seton (Ford Credit / FPV Ford Performance Racing) and Jason Bargwanna (Orrcon Steel Racing).
Ford's most successful current driver is OzEmail Racing's John Bowe who has taken out the Winton round three times.
Driving for the Albury-based Ford team, Bowe is quietly confident going into Winton.
“For such a small team, we've really had a good year,” said Bowe.
“The car has been very strong. We've been pretty much in the top-10 all the way, now it would be nice really step it up at Winton.
“We tested last week and that went well. Over 100-laps we're confident of being up towards the front.
“The weather will be interesting, we don't pack snow chains for the racecar”.
All teams will get the chance to acclimatise on Friday with a 90-minute practice session, before further practice, qualifying and top-10 shootout on Saturday.
Sunday's 100-lap (300km) race starts at 1pm. The race includes compulsory separate tyre and stops.
Other Ford Racing
Round five of the Australian Formula Ford Championship is also on the program at Winton. Brett Francis leads the championship after scoring two round wins.
The dark horse could be Team Manager of OzEmail Racing, Kim Jones. The brother of V8 driver Brad Jones and the father of Konica-Minolta challenger Andrew Jones, Kim will make his long awaited return to the driver's seat as part of Motorsport Training Australia's Wodonga TAFE team.
V8 Supercar details for Winton Motor Raceway Top 10 Shootout - Saturday 24 July - 4.05pm Race (100 laps - 300km) - Sunday 25 July 1pm
Circuit: Winton Motor Raceway, Victoria
Length: 3km
Lap Records:
Qualifying - Bright 1:22.6618 (2002)
Shootout - Ambrose 1:22.9447 (2002)
Race - Bright 1:23.1514 (2002)
Estimated top speed: 180km/h - Pit Straight Estimated average speed: 129 km/h
Ford's V8 Line-up for Winton Motor Raceway
#1 Marcos Ambrose Pirtek Racing
#9 Russell Ingall Caltex Havoline Racing
#5 Glenn Seton Ford Credit/FPV Ford Performance Racing
#6 Craig Lowndes CAT Ford Performance Racing
#10 Jason Bargwanna Orrcon Steel Racing
#20 Mark Winterbottom Orrcon Steel Racing
#12 John Bowe OzEmail Race Team
#21 Brad Jones OzEmail Race Team
#17 Steve Johnson Shell Helix Racing
#18 Warren Luff Shell Helix Racing
#23 David Besnard WPS Racing
#48 Mark Noske WPS Racing
#31 Steve Ellery Super Cheap Auto Racing
#88 Paul Radisich Team Betta Electrical
#888 Max Wilson Team Betta Electrical
Ford V8 Milestones at Winton
Winton debut
Mark Winterbottom - Orrcon Steel Racing
Warren Luff - Shell Helix Racing
Birthday
30th birthday (25 July 1974) - Mark Noske - WPS Racing
Top-10 - Championship after round 6 of 13 1. Marcos Ambrose - Pirtek Racing - Ford Falcon 1064pts 2.Steven Richards - Castrol Perkins Motorsport - Holden Commodore 1006pts 3. Jason Bright - PWR Racing - Holden Commodore 951pts 4. Rick Kelly - KMart Racing - Holden Commodore 924pts 5. Greg Murphy - KMart Racing - Holden Commodore 811pts 6. Russell Ingall - Caltex Havoline Racing - Ford Falcon 808pts 7. Garth Tander - Valvoline Racing - Holden Commodore 780pts 8. Todd Kelly - Holden Race Team - Holden Commodore 741pts 9. John Bowe - OzEmail Racing - Ford Falcon BA 638pts 10. Steven Johnson - Shell Helix Racing - Ford Falcon BA 597pts
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