Prodrive continued its stellar V8 Supercars season as Mark Winterbottom led David Reynolds to a one-two finish in Race 16 at the Castrol Edge Townsville 400.
Winterbottom set up the win by sweeping around the outside of pole-sitter Chaz Mostert at Turn 1, going on to lead all laps outside the pitstop cycles.
The championship leader eventually held off Reynolds by just 0.3s after The Bottle-O Ford failed to find a way through in a tense finish.
“We pushed the limits on the tyres and there was nothing left in the end,” said the winner. “Davey was really close and I thought he might have a go.”
Although the bulk of the field ran what has now become the standard tyre strategy of soft-hard-soft in the 200km race, different stint lengths and fuel loads still provided plenty of strategic intrigue.
Prodrive appeared to be headed for its first podium sweep with Mostert sitting third, within two seconds of the lead, when the second and final stops shook out at the halfway mark.
The #6 Pepsi Ford plummeted down the order in the closing stages however, dropping from third to eighth in the final 10 laps.
Prodrive had pushed the envelope on tyre life, triggering the second round of stops earlier than many expected by pitting Mostert with 40 laps still to run.
Fabian Coulthard was the first of those to pick-off Mostert before charging after the top two, eventually taking the flag just 1.5s behind Reynolds.
Starting eighth, Coulthard had gained important track position by short-filling at his first stop.
Scott McLaughlin scored Volvo's best result of the season with a solid drive to fourth, just seven seconds behind the winner in a race devoid of Safety Car periods.
Scott Pye completed the top five in another encouraging outing for DJR Team Penske.
Holden Racing Team duo James Courtney and Garth Tander drove solidly to sixth and seventh respectively ahead of Mostert, Jamie Whincup and Shane van Gisbergen.
The race was largely devoid of incidents, save for some first lap contact between Todd Kelly and Andre Heimgartner that sent the Super Black Ford to the pits with a flat tyre.
Others to suffer delays included Dale Wood (flat battery) and Nick Percat, who was the only non-finisher after falling foul of mechanical troubles in the closing stages.
Result: V8 Supercars Race 16, Townsville
1 |
Pepsi Max Crew |
Mark Winterbottom |
Ford Falcon FG/X |
01:29:22.57 |
01:13.60 |
2 |
The Bottle-O Racing Team |
David Reynolds |
Ford Falcon FG/X |
01:29:22.84 |
01:13.71 |
3 |
Freightliner Racing |
Fabian Coulthard |
Holden Commodore VF |
01:29:24.07 |
01:14.05 |
4 |
Wilson Security Racing GRM |
Scott McLaughlin |
Volvo S60 |
01:29:29.56 |
01:13.84 |
5 |
DJR Team Penske |
Scott Pye |
Ford Falcon FG/X |
01:29:30.21 |
01:13.95 |
6 |
Holden Racing Team |
James Courtney |
Holden Commodore VF |
01:29:34.25 |
01:13.95 |
7 |
Holden Racing Team |
Garth Tander |
Holden Commodore VF |
01:29:38.46 |
01:14.09 |
8 |
Pepsi Max Crew |
Chaz Mostert |
Ford Falcon FG/X |
01:29:43.06 |
01:13.62 |
9 |
Red Bull Racing Australia |
Jamie Whincup |
Holden Commodore VF |
01:29:44.20 |
01:13.65 |
10 |
Team Darrell Lea STIX |
Shane Van Gisbergen |
Holden Commodore VF |
01:29:45.58 |
01:14.37 |
11 |
Nissan Motorsport |
James Moffat |
Nissan Altima |
01:29:46.13 |
01:14.26 |
12 |
Erebus Motorsport V8 |
Will Davison |
Mercedes E63 AMG |
01:29:47.14 |
01:14.23 |
13 |
Walkinshaw Racing |
Lee Holdsworth |
Holden Commodore VF |
01:30:05.72 |
01:14.39 |
14 |
Red Bull Racing Australia |
Craig Lowndes |
Holden Commodore VF |
01:30:06.63 |
01:14.22 |
15 |
Nissan Motorsport |
Michael Caruso |
Nissan Altima |
01:30:07.42 |
01:14.01 |
16 |
Nissan Motorsport |
Rick Kelly |
Nissan Altima |
01:30:09.25 |
01:14.25 |
17 |
Nissan Motorsport |
Todd Kelly |
Nissan Altima |
01:30:09.77 |
01:14.20 |
18 |
Wilson Security Racing GRM |
David Wall |
Volvo S60 |
01:30:16.63 |
01:14.46 |
19 |
Team BOC |
Jason Bright |
Holden Commodore VF |
01:30:22.37 |
01:14.34 |
20 |
Supercheap Auto Racing |
Tim Slade |
Holden Commodore VF |
01:30:27.57 |
01:14.83 |
21 |
Team Cooldrive |
Tim Blanchard |
Holden Commodore VF |
01:29:31.55 |
01:14.06 |
22 |
Erebus Motorsport V8 |
Ashley Walsh |
Mercedes E63 AMG |
01:29:57.73 |
01:15.05 |
23 |
Super Black Racing |
Andre Heimgartner |
Ford Falcon FG/X |
01:29:32.11 |
01:15.77 |
24 |
GB Galvanizing Racing |
Dale Wood |
Holden Commodore VF |
01:29:44.94 |
01:14.53 |
DNF |
Repair Management Aust Racing |
Nick Percat |
Holden Commodore VF |
01:13:56.21 |
01:14.41 |
Updated V8 Supercars Championship standings after Race 16
1 |
Mark Winterbottom |
1315 |
2 |
Fabian Coulthard |
1139 |
3 |
Craig Lowndes |
1133 |
4 |
Chaz Mostert |
1081 |
5 |
David Reynolds |
1063 |
6 |
James Courtney |
1037 |
7 |
Shane Van Gisbergen |
1018 |
8 |
Garth Tander |
966 |
9 |
Jamie Whincup |
963 |
10 |
Rick Kelly |
828 |
11 |
Todd Kelly |
732 |
12 |
Scott McLaughlin |
693 |
13 |
Michael Caruso |
684 |
14 |
Jason Bright |
682 |
15 |
Tim Slade |
680 |
16 |
Will Davison |
670 |
17 |
James Moffat |
657 |
18 |
Nick Percat |
623 |
19 |
Dale Wood |
576 |
20 |
Lee Holdsworth |
569 |
21 |
Scott Pye |
527 |
22 |
Tim Blanchard |
494 |
23 |
David Wall |
486 |
24 |
Andre Heimgartner |
458 |
25 |
Ashley Walsh |
364 |
26 |
Marcos Ambrose |
125 |