Ford Performance Racing (FPR) has continued the blue oval team’s strong form in New Zealand with round Pole-setter Mark Winterbottom racing his Orrcon Ford Credit FPR Falcon to second place after a race long battle with Holden rival Garth Tander. Castrol FPR Falcon driver Steve Richards finished 5th, capping off a highly competitive day for the Prodrive team at Pukekohe Park Raceway.
The 43 lap race started with Tander gaining the early race lead ahead of Winterbottom and Richards until an early Safety Car period before the end of the first lap bunched up the field. This was caused by Dean Canto running off the circuit at turn one and becoming stuck in the sand trap. By lap four the race was re-started at a frantic pace with Tander, Winterbottom and Richards swapping fastest lap times all the way to the first round of pit stops on lap 15.
Winterbottom was among the first to pit and after a sensational effort by the FPR pit crew, he leap-frogged Tander for the lead by the time the whole field had completed their compulsory pit stops. (Lap 22). From this point he enjoyed a two second lead to Tander with Richards a strong third at 2.6 seconds behind, holding off the persistent advances of Holden rival Rick Kelly throughout the race.
Winterbottom, who finished second overall at this round last season, held on to the race lead until lap 39 when tyre wear slowed his pace, allowing Tander to make his way past in a car which was clearly faster during the closing stages of the race. Richards’ determined top three drive was thwarted when Rick Kelly and Jamie Whincup made their way past relegating him to 5th where he remained until the chequered flag. A deflating rear tyre was found to be the cause of his drop in speed during the closing stages of the race.
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