A team player
Mark Winterbottom is helping teammate Chaz Mostert settle back into V8 Supercars racing at Winton’s test today.
Hitting the track for the first time with #1 on his Bottle-O racer, Winterbottom is getting a feel for the new surface, while Mostert steers his brand new Supercheap Auto Ford Falcon FG X for the first time.
Sidelined after his horrific accident at Bathurst, Mostert has returned from a broken leg, wrist and knee issues to prepare himself for next month’s Clipsal 500.
But given his time away from the car, and the different feel of the surface, Mostert has relied on his teammate more than ever to get the most out of today.
“Chaz has moved into the other garage but I’ve seen him more today than I’ve probably ever seen him,” Winterbottom told v8supercars.com.au.
“He keeps walking in and we keep chatting about the car. He’s been out of the car for such a long time and the track is so different he’s sort of going, 'is this how the car should feel?' He’s been asking quite a few questions.”
With different sponsors across Winterbottom and Mostert’s cars this year, the team has elected to split the pair in pit lane, so Winterbottom and yet-to-be-announced Cameron Waters will share a pit boom, as well as Mostert and Super Black’s Chris Pither.
That hasn’t changed anything today, with the drivers collaborating as usual.
“Although he’s in the other garage he’s been hanging out here more than the other garage, so it feels quite normal,” Winterbottom said.
Mostert does not believe he has been affected in the car today. His test comes less than a week after Craig Lowndes’, who drove his TeamVortex car without issue at Queensland Raceway on Thursday.
Winterbottom also had surgery on his ankle over Christmas, and said he was feeling fine in the car today.
“I feel good, the ankle is fine – it’s actually less painful than it was … it’ll be good to get into race mode and see where it’s at in the race. But so far so good.”
There are 27 V8 Supercars on-track today, with the majority of Victorian teams joined by Dunlop Series entrants.
“It’s really cool there’s so many cars here so it feels like a little race meeting,” Winterbottom said.
“Number one on the car, The Bottle-O, all my green stuff instead of blue – it’s a pretty exciting day.
“So far so good – first day in the car is always the most fun of the year.”
Winterbottom is pleased with his Ford Falcon FG X, which he used to set the third fastest time of the day, a 1min21.9593.
Tim Slade has held the top spot for the majority of the day, 0.6985sec quicker than Winterbottom with a 1min21.2608.
The teams are testing in hot conditions and learning the new surface, with Winton recently redone in time for testing. A number of drivers have had excursions off-track – including James Courtney this morning, who had a scuffle with the wall at turn two – testing the limits.
“The car feels good – the track surface is a lot different to what we normally see here at Winton,” Winterbottom said.
“It’s created a few more issues and drama, but the lap time is ultimately a lot quicker. It feels good, we’re still trying to get used to the track – the track is a lot different.”
Click here to follow the rest of the test day with live timing.
