Winterbottom: "I Have Unfinished Business"
Unfinished business and a sense of loyalty drove Mark Winterbottom to renew his contract with Ford Performance Racing until the end of 2016.
The deal, announced just days after he and Steve Richards broke through for his and the team’s first Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 victory, means ‘Frosty’ will race for the factory Ford team for at least 11 years.
It also means his V8 Supercars career remains blue oval based, as he has only ever raced Falcons in the Championship; in the enduros for Stone Brothers Racing in 2003, full-time for Larkham Motorsport in 2004 and 2005 and at FPR ever since.
The renewal, which came more than a year before his current contract was due to expire, was confirmed at the same time as it was announced rookie sensation Chaz Mostert was stepping into the other Pepsi Max Ford Falcon FG II in 2014 to replace the departing Will Davison.
Davison’s destination is yet to be officially confirmed.
Winterbottom’s renewal is also the first of the 2014 ‘big three’ to be accounted for, as the contracts of both Red Bull’s Jamie Whincup and Holden Racing Team’s Garth Tander expire at the end of next season.
“I have never ever gone into the last year of my deal at FPR… and when they approached me it was a pretty easy negotiation,” Winterbottom told v8supercars.com.au. “It was a really quick deal which is how it should be if they come to you with the right package and you are happy to stay there.
“I love the team and I love the guys there,” he added. “I don’t start things and not finish them. Bathurst was a big thing to win, but the Championship is the next thing and I would rather race for that team and win rather than race anywhere else and win.
“Loyalty to me is really important. They have shown it to me and I have shown it back to them.”
Winterbottom’s best Championship result was second in 2008, but he has also finished third in 2006, 2010, 2011 and 2012.
Of course, he could he could break through for the title as soon as this year as he currently runs third, 88 points behind Red Bull’s Craig Lowndes and 82 points behind Whincup. Davison is the only other driver in with a title shot, 121 points off the pace.
Just five races and a maximum 600 points remain up for grabs across the two remaining Championship events, the Sargent Security Phillip Island 360 on November 22-24 and the Sydney 500 at Sydney Olympic Park in early December.
“It’s definitely on, all four blokes think they are in a position to win it,” Winterbottom said.
Winterbottom said he was excited to also be the senior partner in the new driving lineup alongside Mostert and was hopeful of providing guidance in the same way Jason Bright assisted him when he first arrived at FPR.
“Having Will there was great but now there is the next chapter with Chaz and I am really looking forward to working with him because he is a really good young talent. I feel that I can offer some help to him and he will push us along because he is massively fast.
“I am enjoying going into that next thing and working with someone new again, not to forget David Reynolds is really starting to hit his straps as well.”
Winterbottom said FPR owners Rod Nash and Rusty French and boss Tim Edwards had given him a thorough briefing on the plans for the team going forward, including the commercial picture which had been scrutinised so heavily this year because of the long wait for Ford Australia to renew.
“We have a great team, great people, great cars and good supporters. It was a pretty easy decision to stay there. I see a really strong plan.
“These are exciting times. The direction of the team looks positive, there are some good new bits that look like they will come on the car in the future. So it all looks good and the team looks like it is set up to finish the job.”
