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It will be a weekend at Winton fraught with danger but one that Mark Winterbottom hopes will pay dividends towards his tilt at this year’s V8 Supercars championship.
The Ford driver has never won at the tight and twisty 3km rural circuit, despite boasting a record four pole positions there.
And while Winton is be the official test track for all Melbourne-based teams – including Winterbottom’s Ford Performance Racing – they have recorded just one race victory since their debut 10 years ago.
“We’ve always had a really quick car there but tyre life and luck hasn’t been that friendly to us,” Winterbottom told AAP.
“Winton is a bit of a dangerous round because it is so hard to get right.
“You can go there and it’s massively hooked-up and fast, and you can go there other times and scratch your head.
“You don’t know till Friday when you roll out, put your tyres on and have your first taste of it.”
Winterbottom is keen to use Saturday’s 60/60 super sprint and the two 100km races on Sunday to stamp his mark before this year’s V8 Supercars endurance series at Sandown, Bathurst and the Gold Coast.
He currently sits in fourth place on the championship standings, 242 points behind leader Jamie Whincup, his Red Bull Racing Australia teammate Craig Lowndes and fellow FPR pilot Will Davision.
“It is an important and a really risky round in terms of the whole championship,” he said.
“After Winton comes the three biggest races of the year, so you want good form leading in.
“If we get good points and, leading into the enduros, get within 200 points of the lead it’s probably a pretty good position to be in.
“It gives you confidence and good morale leading into the endurance races.”
Practice kicks off at 11.05am (AEST) on Friday.
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