Drivers' Quoteboard: Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000

Mark Winterbottom, Pepsi Max FPR Ford, p1:

“Today was just unbelievable. The way the race unfolded and to win it the way we did and alongside Richo just makes it that more special. Doing it with this team and Ford is a reward for a lot of people for many years of hard work. The response on the podium was just ridiculous – to see all those fans and the sea of blue Ford flags, to hear them chanting ‘FPR’ was something I will never forget.                       

“The team has been written off a few times but today was the ultimate way to bounce back and prove our doubters wrong. The final few laps were incredibly close and on the last lap I knew if I could hold the inside line at turn two I would be ok. 

“Then coming down Conrod Straight I knew we had won the race, I knew it was ours so that was a really sweet moment. I really can’t say enough about Steve and his effort today. He was happier in the car than me today and drove incredibly well. 

To win the Peter Brock Trophy with him and FPR after so many years of trying is the best thing ever.”

Jamie Whincup, Red Bull Racing Australia, p2:

“We gave it a red hot crack. I was able to start closing in on those final few laps then I saw an opportunity and went for it. And as it goes, it didn’t work out.

“Congratulations to the FPR team. Ford have been trying to take the Great Race out for a while now and today Frosty and Richards brought it home for them.”

Craig Lowndes, Red Bull Racing Australia, p3:

“As always, I’ve had a lot of fun out on the mountain. The battle with Bright and Tander in the final stages of the race kept me on my toes. But I’m glad that Luffy and I were able to bring home a podium finish for the team.”

Garth Tander, Holden Racing Team, p4:

“We had a great race today and a really good battle in the closing stages of the race.

“Compared with where our car was at the start of the week, it really came alive in that last section of the race. The boys did a great job and unfortunately we came up just short – bring on the Gold Coast!”

Jason Bright, Team BOC, p5:

"We had a quick car but our last pit stop was a lap earlier than Whincup in second, two laps earlier than Frosty in the lead and five laps earlier than Tander and Lowndes behind me so we just didn't have the tyres at the end. We latched onto the leaders but weren't going to be able to hang on.

"We had got strengths onto the straights and excellent braking so no one could get us. Tander just had a lunge and took us with him off the track. He cost himself a position and me two. There was no way he was going to get us without making a mistake like that.

"Lowndes was behind me that previous stint and I was able to hold him off and pull away before pitting. With fresh tyres I knew it was going to be harder but we held him off and I think we had his measure enough that he wasn't going to be able to pass us. I felt like Tander was getting weaker all the time. His braking is nowhere near as good as ours and he stuffed it up.

"When we got to the last seven laps I was getting more confident that we would be able to hold them off unless someone did something stupid, which proved to be the case."

Scott McLaughlin, Fujitsu Racing GRM, p8:

“It was kind of frustrating because we didn’t have enough speed to do anything really. I was just sort of sitting there in my position.

“We lost a bit of time just before the last stop and that killed our race really; we lost a few positions there. It’s pretty cool to be eighth in Bathurst because it’s no mean feat, but it a bit disappointing because we were eighth at the start.

Lee Holdsworth, IRWIN Tools Racing, p14:

“That is the hardest I have worked for a 14th place in my life.

"To be honest, I thought we were in sight of a top five finish all day and then after that last stop all of a sudden we were 14th.

"I am struggling to work it out, but obviously the amount of time we were spending in the pits with fuel hurt us.

"I think we made some major gains from Thursday onwards, but we just didn't get the result we deserved.

"We need to convert what we learned this weekend into a stepping stone for better results at the Gold Coast in a couple of weeks time, and give the Irwin Racing fans something to cheer about.”

Tim Blanchard, Advam, p15:

“It really was a smooth day in the Advam Falcon. We had a very good Warm Up session this morning, and Ash (Walsh) and I were very happy with the cars balance and tyre life. We moved up well in the early stages and by mid race we were well inside the top 10.

“Our Pit Stop strategy was working for us but that late Safety Car caught us out a bit. Five laps either side would have been good for us but it was not to be. It was big weekend for the team so I was pleased we could get a top 15 finish for the guys.”

Russell Ingall, Supercheap Auto Racing, p17:

“It was a good race, but with the strategy we were running, we needed a few more Safety Cars.

“The boys did a good job and the car was really good in the race; a big improvement since the start of the weekend.”

James Moffat, Norton Hornets, p18:

“It was a tough old day, and far from ideal. Being the first finishing Nissan in 18th is a statistic that, in the grand scheme, means very little.

“We had a massive battle on our hands the whole day. The chassis balance wasn’t great to start with, but we slightly improved it throughout the day.

“As we all know, our straight-line speed isn’t the best in the field, but we seemed even worse off today due to a mapping issue which made the drive-ability out of the slower corners very hard.

“I was holding onto it for dear life, so it was pretty disappointing to go all that way and finish 18th. It’s tough to swallow.

“We move from here to the Gold Coast and we need to regroup as a team and perform much better than that.”

Rick Kelly, Jack Daniel’s Racing, p19:

"That was one of the fastest races I've ever seen around here, we pushed all day and the team did a great job, Karl (Reindler) did a great job, everything went to plan, we just didn't have the straight line pace and the outright pace that we needed.

"We weren't in the battle at the front, but we were in the battle up the back all day. We gathered some points and with the straight line deficiency we've got, I think that was all we could have hoped for from here.

"I think when you look back on the day and the weekend, probably the five key things you need to win Bathurst, the team's got at least three of them, and the things we haven't got, to a large extent, are out of our control.

"I've got to be satisfied; the team did a great job all weekend."                                                    

Maro Engel, #9 SP Tools Racing, p20:

“The car ran faultlessly all day, we just missed the set-up.

"We were hoping the track would work for us, but it never did and we battled all day. We also had some cool suit issues, which did not help given how hot it was.

"On the positive side, we finished our first 1000km race and we learned a lot. After finding the deficits this weekend we can head to the Gold Coast with the intention of closing the gap.”

Chaz Mostert, Wilson Security Greens’-Tuf, p21:

“It was a tough initiation to Bathurst for sure. I mucked up in the pit stop stalling the car, and then the starter motor wouldn’t kick in. After the big shunt I had in Practice I am surprised that there were some other things that could have gone wrong.

“The boys had done a great job getting Greens'-Tuf back on track. Woody started and did a good job to get through the PLP and get back on the tail of the field and I reckon we could have pushed well up the field. Of course it is great that a Ford won today even if it is not one of ours!”

Alex Premat, Fujitsu Racing GRM, p23:

“We had a pretty good start of the race and Greg did a really good job because he brought the car in, in a good position. 

“I was working as hard as I could under race pace and I had the fastest lap time at one stage. The car was just awesome and we were pretty fast and I think we could have done a lot better than where we were at lap 120 or around there.

“But then we had an issue with the seal on the fuel tanks, so that meant we had a lot of leaking out of the car. We had to pit to fix that issue and I’m very disappointed. 

“We could have finished in the top five because the car was very fast and it’s a shame not to finish in the top five. It was a good effort for the team and we are looking forward to the Gold Coast.”

Michael Caruso, Norton Hornets, p25:

“It’s very disappointing. This is a special event and you like to do well.

“I had some very good pace, but particularly on my car, we had a number of mechanical dramas and problems all the way through the weekend.

“We need to rectify those problems, because as we know at the Gold Coast, it’s hot, there’s concrete walls, lots of attrition, and 300km around there is a long way to go.

“Plus, you have to do that two days in a row! We need to make sure we’re finishing races, and don’t like to finish when the equipment lets you down.

“I know the guys will do their absolute most to put us in the best position heading into the Gold Coast.”

Tim Slade, Heavy Haulage Australia Racing, P26:

“What a week. Obviously we had all those dramas on Thursday which set us back and then a massive effort from the team to get us out for yesterday’s practice.

"Despite all that I thought we had a very good race strategy with a good race car, but then all this weirdness set in. We had cool suit issues and then I got a hole in my drink bottle – I was wrecked after that first double stint.

"The steering rack problem forced us into the garage for a lot of laps and then it was a matter of just getting seat time and learning what we could. I thought we got the most out of what we had.

"Disappointingly, I would have loved nothing more than to give the Erebus crew a solid result for their massive efforts in the lead up to the race today. Again, I can’t thank them enough and hopefully we can give them something to cheer about in front of a home crowd in Surfers Paradise in a couple of weeks.”

Todd Kelly, Jack Daniel’s Racing, DNF:

"It's absolutely devastating, the day had barely even started, it's tough we just couldn't do anything about that, you can't help a kangaroo jumping in front of the car.

"To not even having turned a race lap is pretty tough to get your head round, so need to forget about this year and try and gather our thoughts back up for the next few races and for Bathurst next year."