Despite this, Winterbottom’s mantle as second best Ford in the championship is indicative of his solid, consistent top ten results. Indeed the 2003 Konica V8 Series champion has been a standout this season, however his constant slip down the adjusted order the past two rounds is beginning to show signs of the experience and wild speed of his aforementioned rivals. Russell Ingall sits sixth – holding strong as he maintains a conservative approach to his championship defence. Herein lies Ingall’s problem however. With five rounds down and eight remaining, his lacklustre showing thus far has not reaped the results expected of him. The Stone Brothers Racing Falcons haven’t been quite as quick this year, so perhaps some trademark ‘enforcing’ needs to return to the fold of the once much-feared racer in order to catalyse a real title challenge.
Jack Daniel’s Racing holds down seventh and eighth place with Steven Richards leading his resurgent teammate Paul Dumbrell by sixty-four points. Richards’ consistency hasn’t been as ‘consistent’ by comparison to previous years, and with midfield finishes in Winton and Darwin, the double Bathurst champion is looking increasingly unable to mount a good challenge.
Jamie Whincup and Steven Johsnon round out the top ten for their respective teams, Team Betta Electrical and Dick Johnson Racing. Ford Performance Racing’s Jason Bright sits eleventh just thirty-five points adrift.
The biggest losers after Hidden Valley’s Skycity Triple Crown were Lee Holdsworth (Garry Rogers Motorsport) and Paul Morris (Team Sirromet Wines) who each dropped five places on the ladder and now each sit outside the top twenty, although positions twenty to twenty-five are separated by a slim margin of 22 points. Jason Bargwanna was the biggest mover this weekend, his strong performance for WPS Racing elevating him to nineteenth – up five places from Winton – whilst James Courtney climbed three places to sixteenth.
