Prodrive Racing (Australia)’s Chaz Mostert has continued his consistent run at the Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix, finishing fourth in race three after starting in the same position. Mostert enjoyed a trouble-free race but insists there are further gains to make with the Supercheap Auto Ford. Mark Winterbottom and Jason Bright both found themselves caught in the pack at the start of race three, with Bright spun after a cascade of knocks saw the rear of the number 56 FG X sustain significant damage. Pushed to the back of the field, Bright battled his way back through the pack to finish one spot up from his starting position. Beginning the race from ninth, Winterbottom fell to the middle of the field in the tussle of the rolling start where he ran out the race to finish 12th. Cameron Waters endured a race full of battles; with the Monster Energy driver fighting for position throughout the 13 lap hit-out. Holding his ground, Waters finished the race in 15th.
Mark Winterbottom – #5 The Bottle-O PRA Ford:
Race 3: 12th
“Still working on the car. We didn’t have a good start and that put us back straight away so we kind of just ran it out from there. The pace was reasonable but we’re still working on those few brake issues which have been haunting us all weekend. One more to go so we’ll see if we can get it tuned up for that.”Cameron Waters – #6 Monster Energy PRA Ford:
Race 3: 15th
“It was pretty rough out there today. Not the race we wanted but it was good to be battling with some of those other guys and seeing what the car can do in the pack. It’s competitive which is good, but not quite competitive enough to be up with the top guys so there are a few things we still need to work on.”
Chaz Mostert – #55 Supercheap Auto PRA Ford:
Race 3: 4th
“Another good result getting fourth there but that’s all we really had. It gets tricky; you sit behind someone for a while and the tyre pressures come up quite quickly. We tried something a bit different in that race, we found some more positives and found some negatives with it but that’s what’s important about this weekend. As long as we keep finding those positives and keep tuning the negatives out we’ll hopefully keep moving forward. Overall another good race, start fourth, finish fourth, I’m pretty happy.”
Jason Bright – #56 MEGA Bulk Fuels PRA Ford:
Race 3: 17th
“Turn one didn’t go so well. A few guys came together on the inside of us and we came off one of the worst. I was reasonably happy with the car. It obviously sustained a fair bit of damage to the back which wouldn’t have been helping our aero and our pace wasn’t too bad considering. We made a lot of changes for today’s race to sort of have a feel of something different and we’ll stick with it tomorrow. I felt like we had top 10 pace then with the damage so hopefully we can get a good feel for it tomorrow.”
Tim Edwards – Team Principal:
“Across the board we did a few different things today so there’s a lot to take from it. Quite a few positives which is the main thing. This weekend is all about learning about the super soft tyre and making inroads with that and I feel like we’re making good ground with it. If we can keep going the way we’re going I’ll be pleased. That race was very much where you started was where you raced but there’s a lot that we can take from it.”
RACE 3
1) Fabian Coulthard – DJR Team Penske
2) Jamie Whincup – Triple Eight
3) Scott McLaughlin – DJR Team Penske
4) Chaz Mostert – Supercheap Auto Racing
5) James Courtney – Walkinshaw Racing
12) Mark Winterbottom – The Bottle-O Racing Team
15) Cameron Waters – Monster Energy Racing
17) Jason Bright – MEGA Racing
1) Fabian Coulthard – DJR Team Penske: 219
2) Scott McLaughlin – DJR Team Penske: 208
3) Jamie Whincup – Triple Eight: 177
4) Michael Caruso – Nissan Motorsport: 167
5) Chaz Mostert – Supercheap Auto Racing: 148
7) Mark Winterbottom – The Bottle-O Racing Team: 130
12) Cameron Waters – Monster Energy Racing: 100
15) Jason Bright – MEGA Racing: 82
