Prodrive protests Lowndes contact

Prodrive Racing Australia has lodged a protest against Craig Lowndes after contact between he and Mark Winterbottom in yesterday's race at Sydney Motorsport Park.

Winterbottom started the race back in 12th after a self-admitted poor qualifying and was just shyof the top 10when his Pepsi Max Falcon was hit from behind by the Red Bull.

The contact caused Winterbottom to spin out and he was subsequently hit by stable-mate Andre Heimgartner. The impact damaged his steering and left him to struggle on through the race, which he finished 16th, his worst race result of the year.

Winterbottom entered the event leading Lowndes in the Championship by 268 points, but leaves with teammate Chaz Mostert hot on his heels in second. Mostert's first place finish has cut into Frosty's lead, which is now 174 points.

Perennial front-runners, Winterbottom and Lowndes have been involved in a number of incidents in recent years.

Lowndes received a penalty in the closing stages of Bathurst last year after punting Winterbottom. And in 2013, when both were in contention for the Championship, Triple Eight lodged a protest about Winterbottom's conduct, when he drove both he and Lowndes wide and effectively allowed Garth Tander to creep through and take the race win.

Winterbottom was disappointed by yesterday's incident and believed it deserved to be assessed by the stewards.

"I ended up passing Lowndes and then he just spun me out at two -I hope it wasn't intentional but it was a fair old shunt," Winterbottom told v8supercars.com.au.

"And when he pushed me off, Andre came in skidding -I was off the track and he just cleaned me up, bent the steering and pretty well broke the car.

"So from then on, trying to survive. It was disappointing because the car was really, really good. They're investigating the Lowndes thing now."

The protest will be heard and determined at the next event, the Wilson Security Sandown 500, which kicks off on September 11 in Victoria.

The outcome will affect the Prodrive team in a big way, with The Bottle-O's David Reynolds fourth in the title fight and only 27 points away from Lowndes.

A points penalty is generally between 15 and 35 points, with the degree of severity determined by Driving Standards Observer and Investigating Prosecuting Officer Jason Bargwanna.

"If Lowndes gets a penalty, Dave could be P3 as well, so it could be three cars from the same stable competing for the [Championship] win, which would be pretty cool," Winterbottom said.

"We'll see what comes out of that."

Winterbottom said he would move on from yesterday's race result, which came at a circuit that has not been kind to him in the past.

The Championship could take a completely different shape in the next phase of the season, the make-or-break endurance races, which utilise co-drivers.

Prodrive Racing Australia will be going for three consecutive Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 wins this year, with Winterbottom winning with Steven Richards in 2013 and Mostert proving himself after victory with Paul Morris last year.

Mostert has had momentum the last two rounds, winning three of the last four races - but Winterbottom believes the closer he gets to the lead, the more pressure will be on his 23-year old teammate.

"The pressure's on him to win it, not me," Winterbottom said when asked whether having his closest competitor in the same garage changed anything.

"It probably changes his mindset I'm sure -but for me it doesn't matter, whether it's him, Lowndes or whoever, you try and race them and try and beat them."

The Prodrive team repaired the damage to Winterbottom's FG X Falcon overnight ready for a ride day taking place at Sydney Motorsport Park today. Most of the field is on-track and while rules prevent teams from gathering data as they would at a test day, co-drivers often get valuable laps behind the wheel of the V8 Supercar they will hop into for the enduros.