Mark Winterbottom lets his driving do the talking at Gold Coast 600

Ford ace Mark Winterbottom has had enough of his frosty relationship with V8 Supercars series leader Jamie Whincup.

The Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 at Mount Panorama in Bathurst, NSW today. Pictured is Mark Winterbottom during the final practice session in which he was fastest on track. Photo: Tim Hunter.

DON’T expect any hand ­grenades from Mark Winterbottom in the lead-up to the Gold Coast 600 this weekend.

The Ford Performance Racing driver, who sits second in the V8 Supercars drivers championship behind nemesis Jamie Whincup, is determined to do his talking from behind the wheel of his Falcon.

Last year, hot on the heels of a breakthrough Bathurst ­triumph, a remark about the Triple Eight team taking an “arrogant” approach to their racing ignited a firestorm.

Five-time champion Whincup and teammate Craig Lowndes took offence, firing back with interest in the lead-up to last year’s race while Whincup told the Bulletin ­recently there was no love lost between the pair.

“It’s just part of racing,” Winterbottom said.

“So much is spoken when it probably shouldn’t be. Those guys are notorious for it, they do like to talk a bit. It doesn’t distract you, just makes you laugh at some of the ­comments.

“We got Bathurst last year and they were dirty. They get the championship and we’re not happy they got that.”

Winterbottom has not finished out of the top five since joining Ford Performance Racing in 2006. A second-place finish in 2008 is his best return with Whincup winning five of the past six years and James Courtney claiming the 2010 title.

“A championship would be amazing but one bloke is dominating it and 26 others want it,” the 33-year-old said.

“I’m just one of those blokes trying to get it. We’ve had ­opportunities but we’re not good enough for 12 months.”

Whincup leads the series by 297 points with three events remaining — Gold Coast, Phillip Island and Sydney.

He could have almost iced a sixth title at Bathurst before pushing too hard on an empty tank, losing the lead on the last lap and drifting to fifth place.

Winterbottom may have been in a position to pick up ground on his arch-rival but his chances of a podium finish were dashed when he took a hit from behind from Lowndes and finished sixth.

There are a maximum of 300 points on offer this weekend — 150 to the winner in each of the two races.

“To have any chance of winning we need to dominate the last three rounds,” Winterbottom said.

“We need a bit of luck I guess. It’s high-risk this place. You can get absolutely punished or you can get absolutely rewarded. I’m hoping we can have a big reward.”

Winterbottom said the unforgiving and tight nature of the Surfers Paradise street circuit dictated his team’s strategy would be starting with co-driver Steve Owen, who must race a minimum of 33 laps.

Head to goldcoastbulletin.com.au at noon on Tuesday to chat live with last year’s race winner Dave Reynolds.