Winton V8 Supercars: Mark Winterbottom boosts title bid with win
Mark Winterbottom resisted Jason Bright to win the second V8 Supercars race at Winton, and made major gains on championship leader Jamie Whincup in the process
Whincup and Triple Eight's horrible weekend got worse on Sunday morning as a tailshaft vibration left Whincup back in 18th on the grid, alongside struggling team-mate and title rival Craig Lowndes.
Then the champion's race barely got started. Alexandre Premat ran across the grass between Turns 1 and 2 on the first lap, and caused a chain-reaction accident as he rejoined, with Whincup and Garth Tander among those worst affected.
Triple Eight got Whincup's car back out six laps down but ultimately had to retire it.
Winterbottom had taken advantage of Bright's faltering getaway from pole to shoot past both the Brad Jones Holden and its shock front row partner owner/driver Tony D'Alberto into the first corner.
At first Winterbottom pulled clear, building a two-second lead.
But Bright was conserving his tyres and came back to hound Winterbottom to the chequered flag.
The Ford Performance Racing man met all Bright's challenges and won by four tenths of a second.
D'Alberto (pictured) lost what would have been his first podium late on when James Courtney finally made it past. The privateer still held Shane van Gisbergen and David Reynolds at bay to claim fourth.
Lowndes salvaged 12th for Triple Eight.
Saturday winner James Moffat came back to earth with a depressing 25th on the grid, but impressed by charging to 11th in the race.
Michael Caruso, the other half of Nissan's historic one-two in race one, was a victim of the first-lap pile-up.
Results - 34 laps:
Pos Driver Team/Car Time/Gap
1. Mark Winterbottom FPR Ford 50m25.5250s
2. Jason Bright Brad Jones Holden +0.4231s
3. James Courtney HRT Holden +6.2641s
4. Tony D'Alberto D'Alberto Holden +11.2679s
5. Shane van Gisbergen Tekno Holden +11.7664s
6. David Reynolds Rod Nash/FPR Ford +12.1468s
7. Will Davison FPR Ford +17.7943s
8. Fabian Coulthard Brad Jones Holden +18.2091s
9. Scott McLaughlin GRM Holden +23.0357s
10. David Wall Britek/BJR Holden +23.2810s
11. James Moffat Nissan +23.7814s
12. Craig Lowndes Triple Eight Holden +30.4899s
13. Chaz Mostert Dick Johnson Ford +34.1712s
14. Todd Kelly Nissan +34.5420s
15. Scott Pye Dumbrell Holden +34.9926s
16. Dean Fiore Dumbrell Holden +35.2655s
17. Maro Engel Erebus Mercedes +35.6877s
18. Alex Davison Schwerkolt/FPR Ford +40.2273s
19. Tim Slade Rosenberg/Erebus Mercedes +44.5459s
20. Lee Holdsworth Erebus Mercedes +44.5459s
21. Tim Blanchard Dick Johnson Ford +46.4370s
22. Rick Kelly Nissan +46.9909s
23. Garth Tander HRT Holden +5 laps
24. Jonathon Webb Tekno Holden +7 laps
Retirements:
Jamie Whincup Triple Eight Holden 20 laps
Michael Caruso Nissan 6 laps
Russell Ingall Walkinshaw/HRT Holden 0 laps
Alexandre Premat GRM Holden 0 laps
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