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The 2013 Bathurst 1000 winner was left stunned when Team 18 signed outgoing Dick Johnson Racing driver Anton De Pasquale.
Winterbottom received an outpouring of support on social media and the Supercars stalwart said even some of his “fiercest enemies” had called him to see if he was okay.
As it stands, Winterbottom has not got any agreements to race on the Supercars grid next year, whether that’s full-time or as a co-driver.
Speaking with Speedcafe, Winterbottom said he believed he had an agreement in place – at least in principle.
“Well, we were talking about it,” said Winterbottom.
“Yeah, I was, and I thought… my final meeting was to discuss if it was for one or two years.
“It was done, my part was done. I thought it was done, and clearly it wasn’t.”
Winterbottom’s account tallies with suggestions that the parties were negotiating a three-year deal, with the sticking point being whether one or two of those were to be as a full-time driver.
As of Thursday before the Sandown 500, Winterbottom said he hasn’t spoken to Schwerkolt since the announcement that De Pasquale would drive the #18 Chevrolet Camaro.
“He hasn’t spoken to me, at the moment, but we’ve been busy and whatnot,” said Winterbottom.
“At the end of the day, teams can make decisions, they can make whatever business decision they want, but you just hope… because when your career ends it’s a big thing, so you just want to have people tell you.
“If you’re told you’ve 100 percent got a drive, I take that it’s not 99 percent, it’s 100 percent – but until things are signed, I guess in this sport, in business, nothing’s ever done, is it? Too loyal. When you shake hands with me, I’m done.
“Anyway, that’s how it ended up.”
Understandably, Winterbottom’s priority is to continue full-time in Supercars.
Although he has no future with Team 18 as a full-time driver, the Mount Waverley-based squad has offered Winterbottom a co-drive deal.
However, the 43-year-old said he is not in a rush to make a call.
“They’ve put an offer forward,” said Winterbottom.
“To them, it’s important to get done quickly. To me, I thought I had a deal done, so you’ve just got to re-evaluate your life.
“People make decisions but you just got to live by those decisions. For me, I wouldn’t be rushing straight away.
“Part of the deal was going to be to co-drive there and finish my career there. That was important to me, but when that gets taken away, then you re-evaluate it all.
“I’m not in a rush to do anything. Enjoy the weekend, enjoy my four rounds and then we’ll assess it.”
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Winterbottom is comfortable with the reality that a full-time drive mightn’t be possible.
In any case, the Sydney-born driver will be in hot demand for a co-drive if no full-time opportunities exist elsewhere.
“I want to stay in, like full-time,” said Winterbottom, who has been linked to full-time seats at Brad Jones Racing and PremiAir Racing.
“We’re lucky in our sport when you aren’t full-time that you still get to go and try and win the biggest race of the year.
“If I can’t be full-time I’d be driving and picking the team that’s got the best chance of winning for next year.
“I have got some good friends that I’ve raced with over the years that I’d love to race with again. So if that happens, that happens – but the focus at the moment is just enjoy the weekend.
“I didn’t think I was part of the driver market. Often it can be a long process. It wasn’t on the cards.
“Enduros, people start talking but it’s 12 months away, so I’ll see how I go this weekend and go from there.”
