Winterbottom and Lyons triumph in final race in Surfers Paradise
Mark Winterbottom and Richard Lyons claimed victory in the second and final V8 Supercars race in Surfers Paradise
Lyons started the race and was able to remain in touch with the lead Triple Eight Holdens, providing Winterbottom with the perfect platform from which to attack.
He snatched the lead less than ten laps from the end, clinching his and the FPR squad's first victory of the year, and only Ford's third of the season.
"The boys have done a fantastic job," Winterbottom said. "It was hairy, that was a lot of work. It was one of the great races and I loved it."
Winterbottom and Lyons task was made slightly easier by a safety car at around half-distance, caused by Gianni Morbidelli's spin into the wall.
That not only bunched the field up, but also allowed Winterbottom to jump Craig Lowndes in the #888 Holden, who had been running second but was forced to queue in the pits behind the lead sister car of Jamie Whincup.
Lowndes rejoined in 12th, and with the leaders fuelled to the finish was never able to get back into contention for the win.
Whincup meanwhile could not escape from Winterbottom, and on lap 94 eventually succumbed to the pressure as Winterbottom found a way through, enabling him and Lyons to claim victory.
They shared the podium with Whincup and Sebastien Bourdais, winners of the opening race, and the Garry Rodgers Holden of Lee Holdsworth and Simon Pagenaud.
Greg Murphy and Oliver Gavin finished a relatively comfortable fourth in the #11 Kelly Holden, with Rick Kelly and Jorg Bergmeister's sister Kelly Holden edging James Courtney and Darren Turner's HRT Holden in the fight for fifth.
After a strong opening stint by former World Touring Car champion Andy Priaulx, Lowndes temporarily led and was in contention for victory until his delay in the pitlane. He was able to fight his way back to ninth, but then had to pit for damage and eventually brought the #888 home in 20th.
Race 2 Results - 102 laps: Pos Driver Team/Car Time/Gap 1. Winterbottom/Lyons FPR Ford 2h14m08.1572s 2. Whincup/Bourdais Triple 8 Holden + 1.5564s 3. Holdsworth/Pagenaud Garry Rogers Holden + 3.1042s 4. Murphy/Gavin Kelly Holden + 8.6988s 5. Kelly/Bergmeister Kelly Holden + 11.2793s 6. Courtney/Turner HRT Holden + 11.9509s 7. Owen/Said Paul Morris Holden + 13.4878s 8. Ingall/Magnussen Paul Morris Holden + 14.9391s 9. Kelly/Westbrook Kelly Holden + 15.3354s 10. Slade/Castroneves Rosenberg/SBR Ford + 15.5574s 11. Reynolds/Tagliani Kelly Holden + 17.0818s 12. Johnson/Muller Dick Johnson Ford + 17.5720s 13. Webb/de Ferran Tekno Ford + 17.6506s 14. Davison/Salo FPR Ford + 19.7038s 15. Coulthard/Long Walkinshaw Holden + 21.7543s 16. Van Gisbergen/Pirro Stone Brothers Ford + 27.1349s 17. Bargwanna/Simonsen Brad Jones Holden + 39.0365s 18. Davison/Lieb Stone Brothers Ford + 43.4389s 19. D'Alberto/Liuzzi D'Alberto Ford + 43.9577s 20. Lowndes/Priaulx Triple 8 Holden + 53.1137s 21. Caruso/Farfus Jr Garry Rogers Holden + 3 laps 22. Reindler/Giovanardi Fair Dinkum Holden + 4 laps 23. Tander/Briscoe HRT Holden + 20 laps Retirements: Moffat/Hand Dick Johnson Ford 77 laps Fiore/Morbidelli Triple F Ford 51 laps Bright/Sarrazin Brad Jones Holden 51 laps Luff/Franchitti Dumbrell Holden 15 laps Dumbrell/Klein Rod Nash/FPR Ford 0 laps
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