How close Frosty was to disaster in infamous grate incident
Mark Winterbottom just 10mm from disaster China incident
Winterbottom struck a grate during 2005 Shanghai race
Team 18 driver resumes 2024 season in Sydney this weekend
Mark Winterbottom has revealed he was just 10 millimetres from disaster in his infamous metal grate incident during Supercars’ trip to China.
A young Winterbottom, then driving for Mark Larkham’s Ford team, suffered an unusual accident in 2005 during the first race in Shanghai.
Driving an Orrcon-backed BA Falcon, second-year driver Winterbottom had qualified 24th in the 32-car field and was running in a similar position in the early laps.
In bizarre scenes, Winterbottom struck a metal grate at approximately 130km/h. The grate, which had become dislodged by a preceding car, weighed 20 kilograms and measured 24 by 48 centimetres.
It cut though the Falcon, putting it out for the weekend and causing over $200,000 of damage to the car.
Winterbottom was infamously photographed with the gaping hole in the chassis — but talking on the latest Drivers Only podcast, the now Team 18 veteran revealed just how close he was to a worse fate.
“It cut the car in half, which was an issue because the roll cages are quite thick,” Winterbottom said.
“It nicked the bottom of the seat, so it took a big chunk out of the seat.
“The seat's about 30mm, and it took a 20mm chunk out of it. So it was only about 10mm between that grate and my bits."
Winterbottom poked fun at the incident, adding: “In true workmanship, one guy did his job really well, and one guy did his job really poorly.
"So he welded one end of the grate really well. And the other guy must have been on smoko. He did a terrible job. So it flung up, stuck in the welding bits that were done properly.
"And out of 34 cars back then — this is when odds are percentages — 33 cars got past it, and the car ahead of me flicked it up and I was the next car behind it.”
With his China trip coming to an early end, Winterbottom took to the shops in downtown Shanghai on race day. However, Larkham claimed a memento to ensure the rising star didn’t forget the incident in a hurry.
“I went shopping on Sunday. We went to the markets, because I was out. It was done,” Winterbottom said.
"It was like $200,000 worth of damage. And then Larko kept that grate in his office, because he's like, 'This cost me $200,000'. He wasn't letting it go!
“He put it in his office as a memento, so you'd walk in and there's the grate.”
Remarkably, the car didn’t miss an event in the aftermath of the accident, with Winterbottom driving it for the rest of the 2005 season. After China, Winterbottom hasn’t missed a race since, making his 596th consecutive start in Townsville earlier this month.
Winterbottom moved to Ford Performance Racing in 2006, where he remained until 2018, winning the 2013 Bathurst 1000 and 2015 championship with the team.
