Mark Winterbottom has won the first race of the Castrol EDGE Townsville 400 and his second at the street circuit in the first 200km run today.
It was a nail-biting finish as Prodrive stablemate David Reynolds pushed hard in the closing stages, but the Darwin winner could not steal the win from the Championship leader, who has extended his points lead out to 176.
‘Frosty’ was cautious of the circuit coming into the event because the street tracks have not proven the FG X’s best – but he turned that form around today sailing home an amazing 0.27 seconds ahead of Reynolds, and Freightliner Racing’s Fabian Coulthard.
Coulthard’s performance was also impressive, improving from eighth on the grid to the podium with speed and clever strategy.
Winterbottom started from second on the grid alongside teammate Chaz Mostert and grabbed the lead at the first corner in his Falcon FG X.
“That was awesome,” the Pepsi Max driver said of the race.
“We pushed the tyre and there was nothing left at the end.
“To see Dave second – at the end he was really close and I thought he might’ve had a go.
“To have a team one two was awesome… it’s a well earned one, it’s a tough race.”
The Bottle-O’s Reynolds had Coulthard looming in his mirrors in the final laps and while he was lowering the gap to Winterbottom, it just wasn’t enough.
“It wasn’t a bad drive, my car was performing pretty well,” he said, earning his second consecutive podium finish.
“I was trying to push him because Fabian was coming along and I was a bit scared… but a one-two is good for the team.”
Pole man Mostert was in the mix, but had his soft tyres drop away in the closing stages, plummeting from third to eighth.
It was a positive performance for Scott McLaughlin – who has had a hard run in his Volvo this season – and Scott Pye with DJR Team Penske, finishing fourth and fifth respectively.
Holden Racing Team’s Garth Tander climbed from 14th to seventh, finishing right behind his teammate James Courtney.
Jamie Whincup and Shane van Gisbergen completed the top 10, van Gisbergen coming from last on the grid to 10th in a strong run.
Craig Lowndes has dropped to third in the title fight, trailing Coulthard by seven, after his 14th place finish.
Click here for Championship points.
The V8 Supercars hit the track tomorrow for qualifying, the ARMOR ALL Top 10 Shootout and another 200km dash around the streets of Townsville.
