Mark ‘Frosty’ Winterbottom hoping for another red-hot run at Symmons Plains
Spectators can expect “more aggression, more desperation and more action” as the Supercars drivers tackle Symmons Plains – and one driver is keen to continue his love affair with the track.
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- Frosty chasing more warm Tassie memories
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SUPERCARS superstar Mark Winterbottom was in tears last time he raced at Symmons Plains but not because of the agony the five-litre, 650-horsepower beasts can trigger.
A pin-up boy for Ford his entire career, “Frosty” had just defected from the Blue Oval to a brand-new Holden outfit, Team 18.
In only his third outing for the fledgling team, Winterbottom flew around Tasmania’s 2.61km supercar circuit to claim his 145th pole position – the first, and still the only, pole for Team 18.
His crew was so ecstatic they forgot to call him back into the pits, so he went on to another lap of the track.
When he got the call, the 2013 Bathurst champion and 2015 supercars champion pulled into a garage ignited by excitement.
“I was emotional to get that pole,” Winterbottom said.
“We’d been trying hard and building this team and I’d only just joined and all that side of it.
“Tassie has been really good to me but it’s a tough place for qualifying.
“It’s a short lap. You have to get every corner right.
“I was already quite emotional and coming into the garage and seeing the reaction of the team was incredible, and then other team bosses coming down to congratulate us as well.
“We were at the farthest end of pit lane so to have them come down and say congratulations was a good feeling.
“I’d love to do it again. It was a milestone pole position and we’d love to get another one.”
Next weekend’s supercars round is the return of Tasmania’s biggest sporting event.
It missed last year when the coronavirus pandemic shut down just about everything around the nation.
The supercars usually inject about $10 million into the state’s economy and attract three-day attendances of more than 50,000.
Those numbers are expected to be down this year as the world rebuilds.
Shane van Gisbergen, the reigning Bathurst champion and this year’s series leader, heads the 2021 cast of heroes and villains.
The Kiwi is undefeated this season, and he will be star of the show from Red Bull Holden teammate Jamie Whincup, then Chaz Mostert in the first of the Ford Mustangs, Cam Waters (Mustang) and fifth-placed Winterbottom.
With less than a second separating the car on pole from the car on the back of the grid, Winterbottom says qualifying is never more important than at Symmons.
“When you get pole position, it’s always a good feeling,” Winterbottom said.
“You get one lap to go as fast as you can to try and beat the clock.
“It’s a pretty strategic little place, Symmons Plains, and so to get the team’s first pole position and put our car on number one was a great feeling and probably the highlight of my time here at Team 18.”
Winterbottom finished fourth overall the last time the supercars raced in Tasmania – his equal-best performance in 2019.
The coronavirus pandemic stopped the supercar circus crossing Bass Strait last year.
“Frosty” started 2021 in solid form, claiming fourth and fifth at Bathurst, and a best finish of fourth at Sandown.
But winning at Symmons is a whole other ball game.
“Tassie’s a hard place to win because the pit strategy, as well as slip-streaming and all the rest,” he said.
“It’s the ultimate game of chess having the car in the right place at the right time.
“Tyre degradation comes into it, when you pit you can come out behind cars that haven’t pitted, there’s brake fade, engines, all of these things factor into it.
“A very tough place to win but I’ve done it before so I know it’s possible.
“It’s a track I love, a track I’ve done well at and we didn’t come last year so going off the year before we were good enough for pole.
“Fingers crossed, that’s the plan because it’s easier to win from pole.
“Unfortunately, 23 other drivers have the same plan.
“If we do a good job, we will be there or thereabouts.”
Tasmania will have a short, sharp format with three sprint races, which suits “Frosty”.
“I like it, and from a fan point of view sometimes races can be quite follow-the-leader until the tyres start to wear,” he said.
“The shorter format creates more aggression, more desperation and more action.
“That hairpin at Symmons Plains is one of the best spots in the country to sit and view.
“I guarantee on lap one there’s going to be drama at that hairpin.
“For spectators, with short formats, you’re going to get your money’s worth.
“Whether we like it or not, fans will enjoy it.”
SUPERCARS SCHEDULE
Saturday
9.20am – practice one
11.25 – practice two
1.25pm – qualifying (for race one)
4.25 – race one (44 laps)
Sunday
10.45am – qualifying (for race two)
11.15 – qualifying (for race three)
1.35pm – race two (44 laps)
4.25 – race three (44 laps)
Other categories – Aussie Racing Cars, Super Trucks
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