ICE COOL “FROSTY” AT SURFERS
8/11/2004 19:05 (Press Release) -
Orrcon Racing V8 Supercar driver Mark Winterbottom lived up to his nickname of “Frosty” today using an alternative to the traditional sun, sand and surf as a lead in to this weekend’s Gillette V8 Supercar Challenge on the Gold Coast.
This weekend marks Winterbottom’s Gold Coast debut in Australia’s premiere motorsport series and in order to cool down before the action heats up later this week the 23-year-old tried his hand at tobogganing at the Surfers Paradise Snow World.
The former Konica Minolta Champion is aiming to follow in the footsteps of a pair of Champ Car drivers, namely Mario Dominguez and Ryan Hunter-Reay who finished on the podium in their first attempt on the tricky 4.47km temporary street circuit.
“While standing on top of the podium is a big ask, if you don’t aim high you will never make it there, over the last couple of rounds we have proved as a team that we have the pace to match the front runners, maybe this weekend could turn out to be our weekend,” said Winterbottom.
“Bargs (Orrcon Racing team mate Jason Bargwanna) and Larko (team owner Mark Larkham) both know what it takes to win here, so I’ll be racking their brains all weekend to gain a good result for the team.
“Our cars seem to be able to get the power to the ground well, especially when there is a low grip level on a circuit, this should really suit us this weekend.”
Giving Winterbottom extra confidence entering this weekend’s round is the fact that during the series opener on the Adelaide street circuit Winterbottom was running eighth before he became an innocent victim of an accident, ending his event with a handful of laps remaining.
After admiring the precision and talents of the ice sculptures Bargwanna offered Winterbottom some timely advice about a straight and smooth approach on the tobogganing slope, similar to what will be required for a successful weekend on the tight Gold Coast circuit.
“His tobogganing technique wasn’t bad, but I hope he can keep it a little straighter come the weekend,” joked Bargwanna, winner of the 1998 event.
“All year we have continually been bouncing ideas off each other, in our team it is not a case of one driver leading the other, we both have a very good understanding of the characteristics of our cars.
“The main advantage I’ve had is the fact that I’ve been going to all of the tracks for years, whereas some tracks Frosty has never raced at before. This is where it is mine and Larko’s role in the team to pass our knowledge on to him.
“Keeping it straight is more important aspect of the event, one slip of concentration and you haven’t just spun onto the grass, like on a normal circuit, here your in the wall.
“If we can both keep it clean and stay out of the carnage that always seems to plague this place I think we will both be in contention for a great result.”
As a part of the Lexmark Indy 300 event the Gillette V8 Supercar Challenge begins on the 4.47km circuit this Friday with opening practice at 9:00am with a further practice session and qualifying in the afternoon.
The top ten shootout will be conducted on Saturday morning with the first 22-lap race starting at 3:50pm.
Sunday will be highlighted with a 33-lap race beginning at 12:00pm.
ORRCON RACING DRIVER HISTORY AT THE GILLETTE V8 SUPERCAR CHALLENGE
Jason Bargwanna
Best Finish – 1st (2002)
Best qualifying position – 9th (1998, 2001)
Podium Finishes – Two - 1st (2002), 3rd (1998)
Debut - 1998
2003 results – Qualifying 28th, Race One 17th, Race Two 21st, Overall 12th
Mark Winterbottom
Best Finish – N/A (Debut 2004)
Best qualifying position – N/A (Debut 2004)
Debut - 2004
2003 results – N/A (Debut 2004)
GILLETTE V8 SUPERCAR CHALLENGE
PREVIOUS WINNERS
1994 John Bowe
1996 John Bowe
1997 Greg Murphy
1998 Mark Larkham
1999 Paul Radisich
2000 Paul Radisich
2001 Garth Tander
2002 Jason Bargwanna
2003 Russell Ingall
2004 V8 SUPERCAR CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS
After 10 of 13 rounds
1: Marcos Ambrose 1667
2: Jason Bright 1612
3: Rick Kelly 1565
4: Russell Ingall 1519
5: Steven Richards 1509
6: Greg Murphy 1476
7: Todd Kelly 1303
8: John Bowe 1188
9: Garth Tander 1155
10: Jason Bargwanna 1138
11: Paul Weel 1029
12: Mark Skaife 1003
13: Steven Johnson 1000
14: Brad Jones 973
15: Glenn Seton 971
16: Mark Winterbottom 940
17: Craig Baird 922
18: Warren Luff 904
19: Jason Richards 904
20: Paul Morris 861
21: Cameron McConville 860
22: Anthony Tratt 844
23: Paul Dumbrell 844
24: Tony Longhurst 826
25: Craig Lowndes 825
26: Paul Radisich 763
27: Steve Ellery 722
28: Simon Wills 643
29: David Besnard 560
30: Max Wilson 504
31: Greg Ritter 372
32: Cameron McLean 360
33: Fabian Coulthard 330
34: Mark Porter 310
35: Mark Noske 304
36: Dale Brede 292
37: Thomas Mezera 272
38: Alex Yoong 248
39: Jim Richards 248
40: Luke Youlden 240
41: Christian D'Agostin 236
42: Kurt Wimmer 236
43: Neil McFadyen 226
44: Garth Walden 181
45: Tim Leahey 164
46: Steve Owen 164
47: Alex Davison 160
48: Jamie Whi ncup 160
49: Nathan Pretty 156
50: Allan Simonsen 156
51: Mathew Halliday 152
52: Mark Larkham 152
53: Marcus Marshall 152
54: Matthew White 152
55: Paul Stokell 144
56: Peter Brock 140
57: Jason Plato 140
58: Charlie O'Brien 132
59: David Brabham 128
60: Owen Kelly 128
61: Alan Gurr 128
62: Adam Macrow 120
63: Alain Menu 120
64: John McIntyre 112
65: Grant Elliott 100
EVENT SCHEDULE
Friday October 22
9:00am – 9:35am - Practice 1
1:00pm – 1:35pm - Practice 2
4:00pm - 4:20pm – Qualifying Lower 50%
4:25pm – 4:45pm – Qualifying Upper 50%
Saturday October 23
11:45pm – 12:05pm - Warm Up
12:10pm – 12:50pm - Top 10 Shoot Out
3:50pm – Race One (22 laps)
Sunday October 24
9:00am – 9:20am - Warm Up
12:00pm – Race Two (33 laps)
TELECAST TIMES
Network Ten
Saturday October 23
11:00am – 5:00pm
Sunday October 24
10:00am – 5:00pm
Release Date: 20/10/2004
Larkham Orrcon Racing
|
|
