Gold Coast SuperGP

Winterbottom defies the pain to take out SuperGP at Gold Coast

Mark Winterbottom defied pain and numb legs with a breakthrough win for his Ford Performance Racing team at the Gold Coast SuperGP and now promises to be a real contender for victory in the remaining races in the 2009 V8 Supercar Championship Series.

Winterbottom threw his Orrcon FPR Falcon around the daunting Surfers Paradise track, despite a week-long debilitating illness that had him running on “30 per cent capacity” and sheer adrenalin on a gruelling second 300km day.

He beat home Toll Holden Racing Team’s Garth Tander and Jim Beam Racing’s ‘comeback kid’ James Courtney in the second race while many of the rest of the field, including Championship leaders Jamie Whincup and Will Davison, stumbled on the dramatic day.

“That’s awesome,” Winterbottom said. “It’s been a tough weekend and I’m glad that it’s over. It’s a massive relief because we are a team that should be winning. Now we expect to be there for the rest of the year.”

GOLD COAST SUPERGP EVENT RESULTS

Race 19 of the V8 Supercar Championship Series
1. Garth Tander – Holden Racing Team
2. Mark Winterbottom – Ford Performance Racing
3. Will Davison – Holden Racing Team

Race 20 of the V8 Supercar Championship Series
1. Mark Winterbottom – Ford Performance Racing
2. Garth Tander – Holden Racing Team
3. James Courtney – Jim Beam Racing

Tags: Garth Tander, Gold Coast SuperGP, Mark Winterbottom