16/11/2011
Ford Performance Racing (FPR) believes it can continue its strong run of form and replicate last year’s pole and race-winning performance at this weekend’s Norton 360 Sandown Challenge.

The team has been busy preparing for its second event in a week and is full of confidence after last weekend’s second, third and fourth places in the Sunday race in Tasmania.

Paul Dumbrell returns to the scene of his first career win and pole and is again on form after claiming his best result of the year at Symmons Plains with pole and fourth place.

Team-mates Will Davison and Mark Winterbottom finished second and third and are both previous Sandown winners.

Davison feels he now has all the tools to win and after a pair of second places at the last two events he wants nothing more than to win on home soil.

Winterbottom is the top point scorer across the last three events by a large margin and his sole goal is to win races and secure his current third place in the points.

FPR will also be running a Development Series car for Chaz Mostert as part of a two-race deal to evaluate the 2010 Formula Ford Champion ahead of a potential full-time campaign in 2012.

The Norton 360 Sandown Challenge will feature a single 120-kilometre race on Saturday before Sunday’s 200km feature race.

DRIVERS’ VIEW:

Mark Winterbottom – #5 Orrcon Steel FPR Falcon

Championship position/points: 3^rd / 2215

“Sandown is one of my favourite events because it has a lot of history and it is a rare weekend when we are not packing a bag for a race. Although we don’t test there it feels like a home race and it holds great memories for me and the team. I started racing there in Formula Ford so I’ve raced there a lot and always enjoyed it. The car is very strong and has been great on the soft tyre. Sandown causes high tyre degradation so if we can make them last like we did last year we will be somewhere near the money. Our expectation is that we should be on the podium every time and that boosts confidence. We are a different team to what we were three months ago and that is showing in the results.”

Will Davison – #6 Trading Post FPR Falcon

Championship position/points: 6^th / 2096

“Sandown is a great track to be going to at this time of year with the momentum we have. I’ve spent a lot of my life there and it holds a lot of history. The FPR cars have been great lately and we’ve clearly turned a corner on the soft tyres, though this will be our biggest challenge as Sandown has a similar level of grip and tyre degradation as Winton and Ipswich where we struggled earlier this year. I’ve had five podiums including some seconds lately so I am very driven to get a win before the year is out. The team is confident and I think we have a good shot. I also have my eyes on third in the championship as while I have been largely forgotten I am a realistic chance to get there and that is what I am gunning for.”

Paul Dumbrell – #55 The Bottle-O FPR Falcon

Championship position/points: 24^th / 1198

“I can’t wait to return to the scene of what was undoubtedly the best moment of my career. Given the pace of the cars last year and then last weekend in Tasmania everything looks promising for Sandown. Finishing second, third and fourth in Tasmania on soft tyres was impressive given where we’ve been at previous races so along with our improved engine package there is no doubt we will be strong at Sandown. Knowing that what we did last year in Tassie carried over to this year helped me last weekend and also means I go into this weekend knowing the car is good enough so I just have to step up to the mark and do the job.”

Tim Edwards – FPR Team Principal

FPR Team Championship position/points: 2^nd / 4336

“The team is in great spirits after another weekend where we again showed further improvement in our car speed. The entire team must be commended for this and also the quick turnaround they’ve achieved to get the cars ready in just a few days. Sandown last year was without doubt our best event of the season and one Paul and the car #55 crew remember fondly. We go there wanting no less than the same and given our recent form we believe that can be achieved.”