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Game On: Third All-Ford Podium in Four Rounds

19 November 07

Ford continues to lead the V8 Supercar charge claiming the third all-Ford podium in four rounds, with Jamie Whincup, Steven Richards and Mark Winterbottom gracing the three steps in Tasmania today.

With seven Ford’s in the top ten for the final 50 lap race on the 2.4 kilometre Symmons Plains circuit, and six in the overall round top ten, Ford remains a dominant V8 Supercar force and is again the Championship leader.

Ford 1, 2, 3 on the podium at Tasmania

Consistency prevailed for Whincup throughout the penultimate round, he qualified the #88 Falcon third plus came second in race one on Saturday, and took out the win in both race two and three today.

The result gives the TeamVodafone star a narrow seven point lead for the 2007 V8 Supercar Championship title after Tander’s DNF in the final race with only one hit-out remaining.

Ford Performance Racing rounded out the podium with Richards second and Winterbottom third, clambering back after confusion that saw both the #5 and #6 Falcon’s in pit-lane simultaneously.

Winterbottom the latter car in the FPR pit-stop line-up lost five positions despite a quick turnaround of rear tyres by the team, but managed to regain ground with sheer car speed and driving prowess.

Lowndes result of fifth overall for round puts him third in the Championship standings and at just four points behind Tander it will still be a dramatic fight to the finish at Phillip Island.

Ford’s talented line-up of V8 Supercar drivers will hit the track for the 2007 V8 Supercar Grand Finale, round thirteen at Phillip Island in under two weeks (30 November – 2 December).

Jamie Whincup

"I had a shocker here last year so it was fantastic to come back and put on a good show," said Jamie Whincup.

"It’s always tough out there and the Championship contention puts a lot of pressure on you believe it or not. Bahrain was a terrible round for me, and Garth didn’t have things go right for him today."

"I have a brand new car and it really suits me. I must credit my engineer and the team – they got us out in front with three very good stops this weekend.

"I was able to stay in the lead today and I didn’t make mistakes. This is one of the tracks where leading is very tough. We kept our best tyres for the last race as that’s generally where everything goes on."

"It’s pretty crazy, Bahrain was the lowest of lows and today is the highest of highs. I was winning the Championship but at Indy and Bahrain I handled things quite poorly – both myself and the people around me have learnt a lot from that.

"I thought I had thrown away the Championship, but Garth had his issues this weekend, so at Phillip Island it will be a matter of the man who steps up on the day and grabs it with both hands."

Steven Richards

"We no doubt had a fast enough car to win this weekend, but once you are following here, not leading, it affects your brakes enough to keep you from victory," said Steven Richards.

"I was staggered by the move Garth tried to pull in the situation that he did, I was incredibly surprised. He’s not fighting me for the Championship, although he could have jumped us for the round result.

"With regards to both FPR cars pitting at the same time, that doesn’t happen unless the team thinks there is going to be a safety car, and that’s what we thought was the case at the time.

"Everywhere we’ve been since Sandown both our cars have been sensational. There is no doubt we will continue to be competitive at Phillip Island.

"We’re very conscious that our positions can affect the Championship, but we are still driving our own races and we are driving to win."

Mark Winterbottom

"The confusion with the pit stop cost us quite a bit, five positions to be exact. I’ve always wondered what a pit stop looked like from that angle, I got to watch Richo roll away and the team was quick to bring out the second set of tyres for me," said Mark Winterbottom.

"When you get stuck behind someone here it is impossible to pass"

"At the end of the day it’s still a podium and we still got to spray champagne.

Ray Price

"It is game on, we always knew we were still firmly in the fight for the Championship," said Ray Price.

"We’ve had three all-Ford podiums – Bathurst, Bahrain and this weekend in Tasmania – with four different teams gracing the steps.

"Heading into Phillip Island feels reminiscent of last year with the battle between Rick Kelly and Craig Lowndes. It’s a close game and Ford is in it to win."

TASMANIA V8 SUPERCARS ROUND TOP TEN
1. Jamie Whincup, Team Vodafone, Ford
2. Steven Richards, Castrol FPR, Ford
3. Mark Winterbottom, FPR Ford Credit
4. Mark Skaife, HRT Holden
5. Craig Lowndes, TeamVodafone, Ford
6. Jason Richards, Tasman Motorsport, Holden
7. Garth Tander, TOLL HSV, Holden
8. Steven Johnson, JIM BEAM RACING, Ford
9. Rick Kelly, TOLL HSV, Holden
10. James Courtney, Jeld-Wen Racing, Ford

V8 SUPERCAR CHAMPIONSHIP TOP TEN
1. Jamie Whincup, Team Vodafone, Ford 569
2. Garth Tander, TOLL HSV, Holden 562
3. Craig Lowndes, Team Vodafone, Ford 548
4. Rick Kelly, TOLL HSV, Holden 521
5. Mark Winterbottom, Ford Credit FPR 381
6. Steven Richards, Castrol/FPR, Ford 366
7. Mark Skaife, HRT, Holden 335
8. James Courtney, Jeld-Wen Racing, Ford 331
9. Todd Kelly, Holden Racing Team, Holden 325
10. Will Davison, JIM BEAM RACING Ford 315