Braking News: Mark Winterbottom to lift the lid on life in Supercars

Braking News: Mark Winterbottom’s split from Ford is one of Supercars’ most explosive divorces – now he’s set tell his story.

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA – NOVEMBER 21: Nick Percat drives the #8 Brad Jones Racing Holden Commodore ZB during the Sydney SuperNight which is part of the 2021 Supercars Championship, at Sydney Motorsport Park, on November 21, 2021 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Daniel Kalisz/Getty Images)

Mark Winterbottom is set to tell his rags to riches tale after signing a book deal with Harper Collins.

Set to be co-written with Braking News co-columnist James Phelps, Winterbottom will write a warts and all account of his incredible career, which began when his mother won a motorbike in a raffle.

Unlike most V8 biographies which are glorified race diaries, Winterbottom will lift the lid on the sport and tell it like it is.

The book will include an explosive chapter on his break-up with Ford.

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Mark Winterbottom is set to reveal all in his new book. Picture: Tim Hunter.

TROLLS ATTACK AS RED BULL IS ACCUSED OF RACE-STOPPING CONSPIRACY

Supercars drivers have been attacked by trolls, with angry fans slamming them as soft for failing to race in the rain.

In an ugly aftermath to the final instalment of Sydney Super Night, which was cancelled because of bad weather, both drivers and officials were abused by fans for making the decision not to race.

Ford flyer Will Davison took to social media to defend both himself and fellow drivers amid claims the sport was soft.

“It’s disrespectful to read so many comments from the comforts of the couch accusing drivers for being too soft,” Davison said.

The safety car leads the field around the Sydney Motorsport Park before Sunday’s race was called off. Picture: Getty Images

“We will do whatever is asked of us and deal with it. But we are also professional enough to respect the decision of the powers to be.”

The decision to cancel the final 250km race because conditions were deemed too dangerous was not only slammed by fans.

High-profile sponsor Peter Adderton labelled the cancellation as an embarrassment while Bathurst winner Paul Morris took aim at the drivers with a social media post that said: “If you are not capable get a new hobby”.

“It was certainly hard to sit there and not put on a show,” Davison said.

“I was really looking forward to some wet weather madness but it wasn’t to be. We’ve all driven in the most extreme situations and risked everything over many, many years.”

Final race polesitter Nick Percat has dirtied up after Sunday’s race was abandoned, accusing a rival team of lobbying to have the race red-flagged.

Percat blames the Bulls for red-flagged race

Nick Percat has rubbished the claim that the Queensland-based teams would not have been able to fix a crashed car in time for Bathurst, which was used as a justification to cancel the Sydney Supersprint.

The Holden hero suggested that the powerful Red Bull Ampol Racing Team may have cost him a win by lobbying to have the race red-flagged in an act of self-interest.

Shane van Gisbergen was able to seal the championship without a dangerous wet weather fight when the race was red-flagged.

Shane van Gisbergen was awarded the Supercars championship without a dangerous wet weather fight when the final race at the weekend was red-flagged.

“They are happy to fire the thing into the fence in qualifying but then suddenly the race is too dangerous,” Percat said referring to Jamie Whincup’s qualifying crash.

“I don’t know how there was a difference. Those teams could have had blokes build up cars back at base and had them at Bathurst in time.”

Percat was on pole position for the final 250km race after winning the top-ten shootout.

“It was 100 per cent the wrong decision to cancel the race,” Percat told Braking News.

“I was pissed off because they didn’t ask the drivers what we thought at all. It was the wrong decision because track condition wasn’t an issue at all.”

Molly Taylor cannot wait to test herself in the most extreme racing conditions on the planet.

Bucket list: Rally queen to take on Dakar

Aussie rally queen Molly Taylor is readying herself for the challenge of taking on the toughest motorsport race in the world when she tackles the famous Dakar Rally early next year.

Taylor will become the first Australian woman to race in the gruelling desert event in Saudi Arabia from January 1.

“Dakar has always been a bucket-list dream for me to do,” Taylor said.

“I love the thought of all the elements, the terrains and driving in the sand dunes.

“I had my first proper competitive experience of doing that recently in Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge and it’s just another world.

“It’s just that epic challenge of putting together the toughest motorsport race in the world and the thought of trying to figure out how to be competitive but also how to get through and how to manage it, there are so many facets of it.

“The challenge of it really excites me.”

Taylor has already sought the advice of fellow Aussie Toby Price, who is a two-time Dakar Rally champion on two wheels, about what to expect over 14 days on dunes.

“I was able to chat to him and I’m sure I’m going to have a thousand more questions between now and January,” Taylor said.

“The key from everyone that I’ve spoken to is just be patient and play the long game.

“In rally we are used to trying to drive every corner as fast as we can whereas in Dakar you just need to have a completely different approach.”

Shane van Gisbergen owes his team big time after they manufactured one of great wins on Saturday night.

Men of the match

We have broken protocol to award the man of the match to a team rather than an individual this week.

While Shane van Gisbergen was brilliant in the epic drive that saw him take eight places to win an incredible Sydney Super Night, it was his team who came up with the race winning strategy to start on softs and then reuse them.

We had written off the bold gamble to start on softs as a strategic blunder when the safety car wiped out the fast-starting team’s lead.

But the Red Bull made us rewrite our copy by defying both a double stop and used rubber to pull off one of the great one-twos.

Jamie Whincup doesn’t want the fanfare expected with his final Supercars race, instead wants to focus on winning it.

Pulling the fanfare handbrake

Seven-time Supercars champion Jamie Whincup is putting a damper plans to celebrate his decorated career ahead of his final race as a full-time driver at the Bathurst 1000 next week.

While the series works through ways to honour the greatest championship driver of all time at Mount Panorama, it’s understood Whincup — in typical fashion — does not want a lot of fanfare as he focuses his attention on trying to win one last Bathurst crown.

Braking News has been told Whincup wants the week to be about Bathurst and not Jamie.

A four-time winner of the Great Race, Whincup will again pair up with his long-time teammate and seven-time Bathurst 1000 champion, Craig Lowndes.

Originally published as Braking News: Mark Winterbottom to lift the lid on life in Supercars