FPR GOING FOR GOLD AT HOMEBUSH
Monday, November 28th, 2011
Ford Performance Racing (FPR) heads to the V8 Supercars Grand Finale at Homebush with three goals – to end the year with a win, secure second in the team points and see one of its drivers finish third overall.
The factory Ford team has stormed through the last part of the season, claiming seven podiums and a pole position since Bathurst.
Mark Winterbottom is the leading point scorer since Phillip Island in September and currently lies third in the standings.
Sydney is Winterbottom’s home town and he wants nothing more than to win in front of his family and grab the final spot on the series podium for the second successive year.
Will Davison is hunting his team-mate and two other drivers down for third place as although he is currently sixth, there is little more than 100 points to third heading into the 14th and final event of the year.
Davison has previously been luckless at the Olympic Park Street Circuit and hopes his recent form allows him to change these results.
Paul Dumbrell enters his final ever event as a full-time driver though recent results suggest he could easily continue at the top level.
He has regularly topped the timesheets of late and with pole and fourth place in Tasmania he showed he has every opportunity to go out on a high.
The Sydney Telstra 500 will feature two 250-kilometre races across the weekend with a top 10 shootout following qualifying on Saturday.
DRIVERS’ VIEW:
Mark Winterbottom – #5 Orrcon Steel FPR Falcon
Championship position: 3rd – 2449 points
“Sydney is always a really special race for me. I’ve finished second there before and would love to win it this year. My motivation this year is a little different to last but I still have a lot of incentive and I have family there so you always want to win in front of them. Homebush is one of the most demanding tracks we go to as a mistake will punish you severely. A lot of the corners are sharper than you think and throw in high speeds, lots of bumps and off-camber corners and it is very challenging. The hardest part is the heat you get in Western Sydney and with the length of the races it can be very punishing late in the race. On current form we are very strong so I think we can keep third. It is a big battle we are in the middle of and I want to finish off strong and be the lead Ford driver with good form heading into 2012.”
Will Davison – #6 Trading Post FPR Falcon
Championship position: 6th – 2345 points
“The Sydney Telstra 500 is a special event to finish the year. Everyone is a bit tired as it has been a long year but it is certainly an event where you can’t relax. The track is both mentally and physically gruelling so it would be great if we can cap our season at one of the toughest races of the year. I would like to finish on a high as the back half of the year has been great for the entire team so I am aiming to snatch a win and improve my championship position. It is also Telstra’s home event so there is a lot riding on a good result.”
Paul Dumbrell – #55 The Bottle-O FPR Falcon
Championship position: 23rd – 1242 points
“I am really looking forward to Sydney and while I certainly didn’t have the best event there last year it is good to have my last race as a full time driver at a track I enjoy driving. At the moment I am both excited and nervous, but FPR did a great job to get Steve Richards on the podium last year in his last race for the team so maybe they can do the same for me this year. Our form has been great of late and the car has generally been pretty good all year, aside from a small dip in the middle, and with the FPR cars grabbing a few double podiums of late there is no doubt I should have been up there too. So while it is disappointing we didn’t repeat last year’s top 10 finish you can’t always plan your retirement. I’m now just aiming to get as much as I can out of this weekend.”
Tim Edwards – FPR Team Principal
FPR Team Championship position/points: 2nd / 4552
“It has been a long season so I think we are all looking forward to the Grand Finale at Homebush. We are still pushing as hard as ever as we’ve seen a real upturn in our results over the last few months and nothing would send us into the off season better than a win. We want to sew up second in the team points and have both Mark and Will finish as high as possible. It is also PD’s final event as a full-time driver so we want to send him off on a high. Most of our key sponsors will also be at the track so we have a lot of reasons to end the year on a high.”