Rough Ride to End the Year

Prodrive Racing (Australia) didn’t finish the year as they had hoped. The Sydney 500 lived up to its reputation and there were a lot of crashes which unfortunately affected all three cars at some stage over the weekend. Tyre degradation on the soft compound also had a large impact on the weekend.

Saturday
Prodrive Racing (Australia) endured a rough outing in the penultimate race at the Sydney 500 with tyre life and collisions hampering a strong start to the race. Mark Winterbottom pushed up to fifth from his p7 starting position before an aggressive Shane Van Gisbergen ran up the inside of The Bottle-O Ford. The initial bump and subsequent damage to the front left of car 1 prompted a front bar change, putting Winterbottom 5 laps down.

In an alternate strategy, Cameron Waters was one of the first to pit in the 74-lap race with the aim of moving up the field. Rapidly deteriorating tyres saw Waters drop positions mid-race and at race end, with a lock up also thrown into the mix.

Chaz Mostert suffered a similar fate, however named driver error for a move that put the Supercheap Auto racer down to 17th on the final lap.

DRIVERS’ VIEW
Mark Winterbottom - #1
Qualifying: 7th
Race 28: 23rd
“I am disappointed with the result as we had such a great start and were in the mix early. Unfortunately I got turned around and had several impacts which tore up the front bar and meant we had to get it fixed. As a result we dropped laps and after that we just circulated to get as many points as we can. We lost a bit of ground in the driver and team championships so we’ll battle on in the final race of the season and finish fighting all the way to the last lap.”

Cameron Waters - #6
Qualifying: 10th
Race: 21st
“It was a struggle which was not what we thought given we qualified so close to Mark and Chaz. We couldn’t get the tyres to last which made it hard to pull the car up and I had a couple of moments which dropped me back. Earlier in the stints I was okay and fighting fairly high up so we’ll look at the data and find a way to ensure we can stay in the battle to the end. I am pumped for the last race and to end the season on a high.”

Chaz Mostert - #55
Qualifying: 8th
Race 28: 17th
“I didn’t have a very good day. I drove like a bit of a rookie and just made too many errors. It was a pretty feisty race from the start and had plenty of battles throughout. I locked up a couple of times and ended down the escape road which cost me a few places each time and then at the end I was battling a guy with better tyres and came off second best. All of that aside we learnt a lot so I plan to come out and have a big crack in the final race of the year.”

Tim Edwards – Team Principal:
"Today was tough. This track is never kind and it proved itself in this race. There are a number of things we will be looking at including tyre life. Chaz and Cam were in relatively good positions and in both cases it was car balance issues that saw them drop back so we need to be doing something there. On a brighter note, Jack did a fantastic job today in the Dunlop Series as did Garry. They've been competitive all year and they have continued that form this weekend."

RESULTS
RACE 28
1) Jamie Whincup – Triple Eight
2) Garth Tander - HRT
17) Chaz Mostert – Prodrive Racing
21) Cameron Waters – Prodrive Racing
23) Mark Winterbottom – Prodrive Racing

Sunday
Chaz Mostert has narrowly missed out on the top ten in the final outing at the Sydney 500 after starting in 19th place. Following a less-than ideal start to the race, a strong engineering strategy and multiple safety cars elevated the Supercheap Auto Racing FG X through the field. A further late safety car pushed Mostert up to 10th, before falling to 11th at the hands of James Moffat on newer tyres.

Mark Winterbottom was pleased with changes made between the morning's qualifying and the final race for an improved car setup, where after an early-race mistake, he was able to recover to 13th place. Winterbottom was the only PRA car to pit under a late safety car for new tyres, enabling him to finish 12th overall.

A disappointed Cameron Waters is unhurt following a mid-race crash, with the Monster Energy Ford suffering race-ending damage and a frustrating end to the season. Up until that point Waters was pleased with the car's performance, having found a positive direction for car 6.

DRIVERS’ VIEW
Mark Winterbottom - #1
Qualifying: 13th
Race 29: 12th
“Today was a tough end to a tough weekend and certainly was not what we had imagined heading into the final event of the year. We just didn’t have the package to fight at the front. I am not happy to relinquish the #1 on the car as we worked so hard, for so long, to get it. But none of us are happy about it and we will be doing everything possible in the off-season to come out hard at the start of 2017.”

Cameron Waters - #6
Qualifying: 15th
Race 29: DNF
“I was looking pretty okay and we had improved the car since the last race and I could fight inside the top 10 which was encouraging. Tyre life was lot better which was what we struggled with in the last race so that was a positive development. But then I got a little bit of inside kerb at turn eight and that fired me into the fence. I am massively gutted for the team, our fans and sponsors. We have some work to do over the off-season but I know we’ll come out firing next year.”

Chaz Mostert - #55
Qualifying: 19th
Race 29: 11th
“It was a bit of a wild one again today. We just didn’t have the pace which was frustrating but we changed a heap of things after qualifying and it certainly was a better race car than we had yesterday. I got caught up in an incident on the first lap which didn’t help but we pressed on and I thought we might get back into the top 10 but we fell one place short. It was nice to be back racing this year and I’ve really enjoyed being back in the car after my time out late last year. We all want a lot more and I am already hungry to get going in Adelaide.”

Tim Edwards – Team Principal:
"It's been a tough year this year and this event hasn't been any different. We made some pretty drastic changes between qualifying and the race after our efforts there so it was good to see at least a slight improvement there. The positives to take were that our tyre life was better and we have more drive which was good to see but there is still work to do. I'd like to thank the drivers and team for their efforts this year and the fans for sticking by us and supporting us through a tough year. Congratulations to Garry Jacobson, Jack Le Brocq and our Dunlop Series crew on the championship win and a fantastic season."

RESULTS
RACE 29
1) Shane van Gisbergen – Triple Eight
2) Garth Tander - HRT
3) David Reynolds - Erebus
11) Chaz Mostert – Prodrive Racing
12) Mark Winterbottom – Prodrive Racing
DNF) Cameron Waters – Prodrive Racing

DRIVER CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS
1) Shane van Gisbergen – Triple Eight: 3368
2) Jamie Whincup – Triple Eight: 3168
3) Scott McLaughlin – Garry Rogers Motorsport: 2806
4) Craig Lowndes – Triple Eight: 2770
5) Will Davison – Tekno: 2589
6) Mark Winterbottom – Prodrive Racing: 2489
7) Chaz Mostert – Prodrive Racing: 2361
19) Cameron Waters – Prodrive Racing: 1423

TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP
1) Triple Eight: 6546
2) HRT: 4434
3) GRM: 4250
4) Prodrive Racing Australia: 3962