Townsville ‘fear’ over, says Winterbottom

Having not won on the quasi street circuit since 2010, Winterbottom broke his winless streak in style last season with a clean sweep. And it wasn’t just the reigning champion that was quick for Prodrive, then team-mate David Reynolds finishing second in Race 1 and third in Race 2.

Those results, he says, give the team some confidence heading into this weekend’s event.

“Townsville is one that in the past we’ve feared a little bit, it's one of those tough tracks but last year it was one of our best tracks,” said Winterbottom. “We struggled with consistency across the three sectors [in the past] but we made it work last year, which was really positive.

“The different sections of the track with the parklands and the street used to throw the car off quite a bit but there wasn't a huge difference for us last year and it showed.”

Team-mate Chaz Mostert echoed Winterbottom’s thought, claiming that the switch to the FG X Ford has been crucial to the team’s upswing in form in Far North Queensland.

“The FG X actually suits the track really well, where we had struggled in the years before that,” he said. “So if we can pick up where we left off last year, hopefully we can get back on that podium."

Townsville could be key to title fight

The trip north could be an important time to hit some form, says Winterbottom, given how close the title fight is.

There is less than a single round’s worth of points currently covering the Top 8, with Winterbottom sitting fourth, 63 points behind leader Jamie Whincup.

“You go up there with a bit more confidence and obviously this time of year the championship is getting very close, that top six guys are separated by 100 points,” he added.

“A good result out of this one is going to boost you up the order but it's very easy to have a bad race at Townsville. The goal is to get to the front and if you can't win it, get the result."