Frosty Ending the Year on a High

Mark Winterbottom has taken home his second win of the 2016 season in the third race of the Auckland SuperSprint. He maintained his consistent streak finishing the other three races of the weekend in the top 5.

Chaz Mostert also had a podium appearance, finishing 3rd in the second race of the weekend.

Cam Waters wasn’t happy with his car over the weekend but still managed to keep the car straight and finish close to his starting position.

Race 24
The opening race at the Auckland SuperSprint was an eventful one for the Prodrive Racing stable following a rarely seen incident at the beginning of the race. After a clean start to race 24 by all drivers, a red flag on lap two caused the field to line up on the grid with pit lane blocked by the Jason Bright entry. The incident saw Chris Pither receive a pit lane penalty after making contact with Bright's car prior to the crash.

After making up one spot early in the piece, a mistake by Chaz Mostert in what he described as a difficult car to drive put him to the back of the field after spearing off at the hairpin. With little damage to the car, Mostert was able to make up three positions throughout the remainder of the race.

It was smooth sailing after the first lap for both Mark Winterbottom and Cameron Waters, who held 4th and 12th respectively until the end of the 35 laps.

Race 25
A consistent Race 25 saw Chaz Mostert finish the 25 lap race in his starting position in an incident-free run. Adjustments to both cars 1 and 55 between races improved an understeer issue that had plagued each of the cars throughout the weekend.

With a strong car Mark Winterbottom improved one position in the opening laps to finish fifth, but is adamant there is more to come from the car.

Further struggles with understeer and stability saw Cameron Waters drop from 11th to 17th throughout the course of the race, an issue he is confident can be rectified for the remaining two races.

DRIVERS’ VIEW
Mark Winterbottom - #1
Race 24 Qualifying: 4th
Race 24 Result: 4th
Race 25 Qualifying: 6th
Race 25 Result: 5th
"We didn't quite have the speed we needed. I would like to have the car I had in practice but we haven't got it. A fourth and a fifth is still a good result. We just need to try and get that fast car back for me and if we can get that I think we can definitely race up the front. It was a clean race which was good but we just need a bit more speed."

Cameron Waters - #6
Race 24 Qualifying: 11th
Race 24 Result: 12th
Race 25 Qualifying: 11th
Race 25 Result: 17th
"Quali wasn't too bad. We made a pretty good step forward with the car and finished 11th in both which wasn't too bad considering where we were in practice where there was a little bit left in the car and a little bit left in me so that was positive. The first race was okay; we just struggled with braking and turning. We changed it a little bit for the next race but it didn't really make much of a difference to be honest but we have a good direction for the next two races and hopefully we're on the pace."

Chaz Mostert - #55
Race 24 Qualifying: 10th
Race 24 Result: 21st
Race 25 Qualifying: 3rd
Race 25 Result: 3rd
"Obviously the first race didn't quite go to plan. I was running about 9th and really struggled with the balance of the car which just put me in catch up mode to the guys around me. I tried really hard but broke a bit too late and it was a bit unsettled into the hairpin and locked the front. A bit frustrating there going off the track and going to the back of the field and finished 21st. In the second race I started third, had a good start and stayed out of trouble and trucked on. The car was much better in that race."

Tim Edwards – Team Principal:
"Again, positives and negatives to take from the first two races of the weekend. It was fantastic to be up on the podium and to have Chaz up there as well. In this format, unless you have a car that is 100 per cent it is incredibly hard to make much ground at the front of the field, particularly once the race gets going. That considered both Chaz and Frosty did a great job but we're still struggling with a few little things. We'll review the data and hopefully make progress for the next two races.

RACE 24 RESULTS
1) Jamie Whincup – Triple Eight
2) Shane van Gisbergen – Triple Eight
4) Mark Winterbottom – The Bottle-O Racing Team
12) Cameron Waters – Monster Energy Racing
21) Chaz Mostert – Supercheap Auto Racing

RACE 25 RESULTS
1) Shane van Gisbergen – Triple Eight
2) Jamie Whincup – Triple Eight
3) Chaz Mostert – Supercheap Auto Racing
5) Mark Winterbottom – The Bottle-O Racing Team
17) Cameron Waters – Monster Energy Racing

Race 26
Mark Winterbottom ended Prodrive Racing's race win drought, claiming the top spot in the penultimate race at the Auckland SuperSprint. From 4th position Winterbottom made a stellar start, crossing the line with a one second gap over Scott Pye on the opening lap. A mistake by the Red Bull Racing duo further into the race gifted Mark a five second lead, which he extended to 10 seconds by the end of the 35 laps. Winterbottom has finished second in the standings for the coveted Jason Richards Memorial Trophy after a consistent weekend on track.

Chaz Mostert dropped down to 9th place after starting in 6th, but was able to make up ground to finish in his starting position.

Cameron Waters was able to make up one spot to finish 20th, with consistent times making it hard to pass.

Race 27
The rain held off for the final race with each of the Prodrive Racing drivers finishing the race in their starting position. Both Chaz Mostert and Mark Winterbottom managed a strong start, falling into line after the first few corners.

Cameron Waters managed to make up positions early in the race but was unable to hold on.

DRIVERS’ VIEW
Mark Winterbottom - #1
Race 26 Qualifying: 4th
Race 26 Result: 1st
Race 27 Qualifying: 5th
Race 27 Result: 5th
"It was good to get a win. It was not expected really. I had a good start and put down some good laps and then all of the mess unfolded behind so it was awesome to get the second win of the year. I thought one wasn't enough so it was great to get another win. That last race we had a really good start but it's hard with your teammate. We just kind of sat there and finished fourth and fifth with two straight cars and a couple of good results so it was a pretty good weekend."

Cameron Waters - #6
Race 26 Qualifying: 21st
Race 26 Result: 20th
Race 27 Qualifying: 17th
Race 27 Result: 17th
"We just didn't have any pace. My pace in the third race of the weekend wasn't too bad, it was easy top 10 but when you qualify where we did you race there. I made a little mistake during the race and ran into a car and got a penalty but that's racing. In the final race of the weekend we tried to make the car better and didn't really change it much. We just struggled with the car this weekend and finding a rhythm around here."

Chaz Mostert - #55
Race 26 Qualifying: 6th
Race 26 Result: 6th
Race 27 Qualifying: 4th
Race 27 Result: 4th
"I tried my hardest out there but finished 6th in the third race and fourth in the final race of the weekend. A good amount of points there heading into the last round but we still struggled with the balance of the car. It was hard to race out there with everyone on the same tyre so we'll look forward to Homebush. Hopefully we can dial the car in, see what we can do and we'll go from there."

Tim Edwards – Team Principal:
"We had a much stronger car and to get another race win on the board was fantastic. It was a long time between drinks but two podiums in one weekend is a positive step forward. We know there are a few things we need to work on before we go to another street circuit in Homebush. We will definitely take the positives from this weekend and to see Frosty be consistent and sit second in the points for the race meet shows that we are not too far off."

RACE 26 RESULTS
1) Mark Winterbottom – The Bottle-O Racing Team
2) Scott Pye – DJR Team Penske
3) Shane van Gisbergen – Triple Eight
6) Chaz Mostert – Supercheap Auto Racing
20) Cameron Waters – Monster Energy Racing

RACE 27 RESULTS
1) Jamie Whincup – Triple Eight
2) Shane van Gisbergen – Triple Eight
4) Chaz Mostert – Supercheap Auto Racing
5) Mark Winterbottom – The Bottle-O Racing Team
17) Cameron Waters – Monster Energy Racing

DRIVER CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS
1) Shane van Gisbergen – Triple Eight: 3089
2) Jamie Whincup – Triple Eight: 2898
6) Mark Winterbottom – Prodrive Racing: 2384
7) Chaz Mostert – Prodrive Racing: 2235
17) Cameron Waters – Prodrive Racing: 1381

TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP
1) Triple Eight: 5997
2) HRT: 3945
4) Prodrive Racing Australia: 3815