'Frosty' closes in on V8 championship lead

Ford drivers Chaz Mostert and Mark Winterbottom have taken out the opening two races of this weekend's V8 Supercars round in Winton.

James Courtney.

Holden Racing Team says James Courtney will race at Bathurst despite his five broken ribs. (AAP)

Ford veteran Mark Winterbottom is looking to take over the V8 Supercars championship lead after scoring a win and podium finish in Winton on Saturday.

Winterbottom sits just nine points behind a struggling Craig Lowndes on the overall standings but, if form is anything to go by, he could jump in front by the end of the weekend.

The 33-year-old earned Prodrive Racing Australia their 50th victory in the second of the round's two sprints, after teammate Chaz Mostert grabbed race honours in the first.

"It's going good," Winterbottom said.

"We've got to try and maximise the bad days that (Lowndes' team) Triple Eight are having - because they don't have many.

"We'll do what we can, but any race win in a V8 Supercar is special.

"I'm glad Chaz got his this morning and I capped it off this afternoon."

Mostert had dominated proceedings before Winterbottom's win, topping the practice timesheets on Friday and securing pole position for both of Saturday's 20-lap races.

His opening victory was his first for 2015 and came just days after signing a two-year deal with PRA.

"It's fantastic for the team," the 23-year-old said.

"It's awesome in both races to get two cars on the podium."

Lowndes managed to hold on to the title lead with a 12th and eighth placing in the two races, but lagged behind teammate Jamie Whincup who finished ninth and sixth.

The results pushed Whincup up from fifth to third on the standings, although the defending champion is still ruing his Holden's lack of pace.

"This part of the year is about trying to win races and just make an impact," he said.

"We need to get out there and race hard, but we just didn't have the pace, which meant we don't have any fun either.

"Tomorrow is a longer race and that means we'll be off the pace for longer. But there are also more opportunities to come back.

"We'll keep burning the midnight oil and see what we can come up with next time."

It was a horror afternoon for their friends at Holden Racing Team, whose two lead drivers James Courtney and Garth Tander collided on the opening lap of race two.

Courtney, in his 300th start in V8 Supercars, lunged into Tander, sending them both - and innocent passers-by Lee Holdsworth and James Moffat - off-track.

Courtney began the day in second on the drivers' standings, but ended it in fourth.

Winton did, however, prove a happy hunting ground for Nissan, who featured on the podium in both races via Michael Caruso (third) and Rick Kelly (second).

It was Kelly's first top-three finish in 116 races - dating back to 2011.

"We're certainly quite excited about it," he said.

"It's exciting for the guys both here and back in the workshop to have a Nissan on the podium in both races."


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Source: AAP


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