Ford Performance Racing (FPR) has found a set-up it believes can be developed to gain better performance ahead of Sunday’s 200km race after an up and down day for the factory Ford team in races 16 and 17 of the V8 Supercar Championship at Queensland Raceway.
The two 22-lap sprint races saw drivers Mark Winterbottom, Paul Dumbrell and Will Davison qualify in the mid-field, with Dumbrell the best in ninth ahead of Winterbottom in 12th and Davison in 14th.
All three made great starts in the first race and Winterbottom and Dumbrell were inside the top 10 throughout the first half of the race, while Davison started well but dropped back as his tyres lost grip and he had to settle for 15th.
Winterbottom and Dumbrell dropped just outside the top 10 late in the race as they suffered the same issue as their team-mate, though Winterbottom bested Dumbrell by passing him metres from the end of the race – finishing just 0.02s ahead in 13th place.
The team made a few select changes in the short 15-minute break between races before the trio started the second race from where they finished the first under the event rules.
Each made another good start, though Dumbrell’s chance of a good result ended on the first lap as he made contact with another car while trying to avoid contact with the #5 Orrcon Steel FPR Falcon of Winterbottom.
He pitted for precautionary checks and after a flat tyre was replaced he rejoined a lap down at the back of the field and eventually finished 25th at race end.
Davison endured a similar fate to the first race and while be battled hard early and had better pace, he was punted off by James Moffat and dropped a number of spots before claiming 15th.
Winterbottom fared better and the changes made in the break brought him more consistency allowing him to finish 10th.
While the results of the two races were far from what the team desired, Winterbottom’s gains in the second race will be used as a base to further improve the performance of the factory Falcons.
DRIVERS’ VIEW
Mark Winterbottom – #5 Orrcon Steel FPR Falcon
Qualifying: 12th – 1m10.26s
Race 16: 13th – Fastest lap: 1m12.07s
Race 17: 10th – Fastest lap: 1m11.48s
Championship position: 5th – 1273 points
“The car is not that flash but we tried as hard as we could. Sometimes a 10th place finish is more rewarding than a win due to the amount of work you put in to get the result. In race one we had a lot of understeer and we had oversteer in the second so if we just find a happy medium we should be better tomorrow. Hopefully tomorrow we can go the distance and even though the soft tyre is our Achilles’ heel we are trying to improve how we use it.”
Will Davison – #6 Trading Post FPR Falcon
Qualifying: 14th – 1m10.27s
Race 16: 15th – Fastest lap: 1m12.24s
Race 17: 15th – Fastest lap: 1m11.61s
Championship position: 7th – 1260 points
“We made great starts in both races but I got the raw end of a few deals in the second one. Moffat punted me off and that shuffled me back a bit. I hope he gets penalised for what he did as it is just not on. The car was slightly better in the second race, but we didn’t get the result we deserved even though we were a bit better. The changes did make a difference and we made a step forward.”
Paul Dumbrell – #55 The Bottle-O FPR Falcon
Qualifying: 9th – 1m10.16s
Race 16: 14th – Fastest lap: 1m11.96s
Race 17: 25th – Fastest lap: 1m11.59s
Championship position: 18th – 810 points
“The story of the day was that we didn’t really have the tyre life to see us through the whole race. We were speedy early and passed a few cars but just keeping life in the tyres was a bit hard today. The second race was over before we even really got started. I was propped wide in turn one and didn’t really have anywhere to go as Mark (Winterbottom) was on the inside of me. I didn’t want to crowd him and unfortunately in doing that I damaged the front of the car and after I pitted for repairs I just soldiered on and collected some points.”
Tim Edwards – FPR Team Principal
“Today did not turn out how we would have liked so we are of course disappointed with our results. All three of our drivers made good starts in both races which obviously helped them make up ground, but despite their best efforts they couldn’t hold on to the gains they made. Mark improved his car between races and now has something for us all to work from tomorrow. The team should be commended for doing so well to make the changes in the 15-minute window we had. We have a number of things to work on overnight and will look to qualify stronger tomorrow to give us a better chance in the race.”
2011 V8 SUPERCAR CHAMPIONSHIP
IPSWICH
RACE 16 – RESULTS:
1) Craig Lowndes – Triple Eight
2) Tim Slade – Stone Brothers Racing
3) Jamie Whincup – Triple Eight
4) Rick Kelly – Kelly Racing
5) Steve Owen – Paul Morris Motorsport
13) Mark Winterbottom – Ford Performance Racing
14) Paul Dumbrell – Ford Performance Racing
15) Will Davison – Ford Performance Racing
2011 V8 SUPERCAR CHAMPIONSHIP
IPSWICH
RACE 17 – RESULTS:
1) Craig Lowndes – Triple Eight
2) Jamie Whincup – Triple Eight
3) Tim Slade – Stone Brothers Racing
4) Rick Kelly – Kelly Racing
5) Steve Owen – Paul Morris Motorsport
10) Mark Winterbottom – Ford Performance Racing
15) Will Davison – Ford Performance Racing
25) Paul Dumbrell – Ford Performance Racing
2011 V8 SUPERCAR CHAMPIONSHIP
DRIVER POINTS AFTER RACE 17
1) Jamie Whincup – Triple Eight: 1817 points
2) Craig Lowndes – Triple Eight: 1647
3) Shane van Gisbergen – Stone Brothers Racing: 1398
4) Rick Kelly – Kelly Racing: 1364
5) Mark Winterbottom – Ford Performance Racing: 1273
7) Will Davison – Ford Performance Racing: 1260
18) Paul Dumbrell – Ford Performance Racing: 810
2011 V8 SUPERCAR CHAMPIONSHIP
TEAM POINTS AFTER RACE 17
1) Triple Eight: 3489 points
2) Stone Brothers Racing: 2588
3) Ford Performance Racing: 2558