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SPECIAL

Ford Territory

SPECIAL

Ford Territory

V8s Return To Winton

Staff, Monday May 29, 2006.

Page 1 of 1

After missing out on a race in 2005, Winton has replaced the cancelled Chinese round.

Although the track is well known to drivers, a number of Victorian-based teams that use the circuit for testing could have an advantage over their interstate rivals.

One team looking to take full advantage is Ford Performance Racing. Driver of the #5 Ford Credit Falcon, Mark Winterbottom, is enjoying a solid run at the moment after finishing second in New Zealand and fifth in Perth.

With Winton at the base of the Victorian Alps, temperatures are expected to be in single figures. With the name Winterbottom, the 25-year-old is looking forward to racing at the three-kilometre layout.

"I'm glad that Winton is back on the calendar, as it is one of the most technical circuits in the series," said Winterbottom.

"The relatively short circuit length hides some 16 turns, so you can gain or lose time. It's a challenge I enjoy.

"It is also our team's test circuit and we have improved our pace there during each of our three test days so far this season.

"Winton is also a special circuit for me personally as I had my first drive of a race car there in a Formula Ford and I won the Development Series round there in a Falcon in 2003.

"I have enjoyed some great races at this circuit and considering FPR's form this season, I believe that my best Winton experience is yet to come."

Team Betta Electrical's Craig Lowndes finished third at the previous round at Perth's Barbagallo Raceway.

Winton is a track he knows very well, although success has not always come his way.

?Winton was my club tack growing up so I know the circuit reasonably well but my results over the years have been a bit up and down," said Lowndes.

?Most of the Holden teams test at Winton and we have not raced there since 2004 so we will have our work cut out for us but I know Team Betta Electrical did have reasonable car speed last time around.

?We will need to be very conscious of weather patterns next weekend, this will be one of the biggest challenges we face with car setup as even a bit of cloud cover on a sunny day can change your lap times considerably.

?We had our second team test last week which highlighted a few things we need to change on car setup

?It was a very productive day and I think we all came away understanding the car a lot better than what we have.

?Winton is going to be one of the hardest tracks to climb through the field in the reverse grid race. It will be critical just to finish and with limited passing opportunities pit strategy will be more important than ever."

Defending V8 Supercar Champion Russell Ingall (Caltex Racing) holds a 14-point advantage in the title chase. However, over three races, including the reverse-grid race on Sunday morning, the championship chase could well and truly be turned on its head come Sunday afternoon.

Championship after 3 of 13 rounds

For further information, please contact:
Ben Beazley
Media Coordinator
Ford Racing Australia
Phone: +61-3-9359 8190
Mobile: +61-417-262 753
Email: bbeazle3@ford.com

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