Winterbottom takes four in a row, Lowndes stalks the leader

Mark Winterbottom

Mark Winterbottom remains untouchable yet he is not fully convinced that he can claim his first V8 Supercars Championship title.

Winterbottom broke a long Queensland Raceway drought at the Coates Hire Ipswich SuperSprint today. He won both of the shorter sprint races in a canter, taking his fourth straight race win and the first time in his career won that many in a row.

Having been a bridesmaid, along with the rest of the field, to Jamie Whincup for the past eight years, Winterbottom has reversed the form that is usually that of his life-long nemesis.

“Any win in our sport you celebrate and to get four in a row you have to enjoy," Winterbottom said. “I’ve never won four in a season, let alone four in a row."

Winterbottom has not finished outside of the Championship top five since 2006, almost a decade of being one of the very best racers in the sport. He has now won eight of the 19 races this season.

He has won races at every track around the country bar one and holds a Bathurst title. Yet the Championship top step has eluded him, mostly due to the dominance of Whincup’s Red Bull Racing outfit.

This year it’s Winterbottom’s Pepsi Max Crew that has turned the tables on Red Bull.

“We’re going good and you just have to enjoy it. You never write these (Red Bull) guys off, they are always there. They’ve proven it again, they always bounce back and we just have to stay on our game and keep doing what we’re doing."

Although Winterbottom reigned out in front he was pushed by Craig Lowndes in the second, soft tire race in the most promising sign that the sport’s most dominant team is beginning to find form. Lowndes also barged his way into third in the opening race.

“He won’t go away," Winterbottom said. “You have a win like that but then it’s “yay, I’ve got two points on Craig."

Like Lowndes, Whincup bounced back from an indifferent string of results, by his standards, as he stalked the leaders in the second race having finished ninth in the opener.

“Our car has improved over the course of the day which is something we’re really pleased with," said Lowndes.

“Frosty did a fantastic job today with the switchback (when he passed Lowndes at the first corner) but even with that our car had good pace to match him.

“We are working on the areas where we are not strong and that’s something we’ll look at tonight. We know our hard tire [pace] is not as good as the soft so we have got a bit of work to do.

“We’re still working at it and its coming together which is really good."

As is mostly the case at Queensland Raceway qualifying was a critical factor. Chaz Mostert sat on the front for the first race but again got a poor start while Lowndes took ARMOR ALL Pole for the second race but was rounded up by Winterbottom at the very first corner.

Mostert said he was in the “box seat" watching two of the sport’s best duke it out at the front, and continues his form at Queensland Raceway with a podium.

The day wasn’t as rosy for Shane van Gisbergen, who triggered a safety car when he stalled on the start-line. The Kiwi qualified further back than usual, sitting 22nd on the grid. A first-lap race incident saw damage to Nick Percat’s rear door and Lee Holdsworth headed straight in to the pits.

Whincup earned another fifth place and moves ahead of Garth Tander to seventh in the Championship, though he’s now 441 away from leader Winterbottom.

The V8 Supercars will hit the track for qualifying and a 200km race tomorrow, the final day of the Coates Hire Ipswich SuperSprint.

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