Mark Winterbottom facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Mark Winterbottom
Winterbottom in 2020
Nationality	Australian
Born	20 May 1981 (1981-05-20) (age 44) Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Supercars record
Car number	18
Current team	Team 18
Series championships	1 (2015)
Races	615
Race wins	41
Podium finishes	150
Pole positions	43
2024 position	15th (1557 pts)

Mark James "Frosty" Winterbottom (born 20 May 1981) is an Australian former professional racing driver. He was known for competing in the Repco Supercars Championship. He drove the No. 18 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Team 18.

Mark's career highlights include winning the famous 2013 Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 race. He won it with his teammate Steven Richards. He also won the Sandown 500 race twice, in 2006 and 2015. In 2003, he received the Mike Kable Young Gun Award. Winterbottom won his first championship title in 2015. This was the first title for Ford in five years. He even voiced himself in the Australian version of the 2011 Pixar movie, Cars 2.

Mark retired from full-time driving at the end of the 2024 Supercars Championship. He plans to only race in endurance events for Tickford Racing. He will drive alongside Cameron Waters in these races.

Early Racing Days

Starting Out

Mark Winterbottom started his racing journey on motorbikes. He raced in small 50 cc events. Then he moved up to the 80 cc class. He even competed against famous riders like Anthony Gobert and Chad Reed. Mark raced whenever he could, fitting it around his soccer games. He also raced a dirt Mini-Speedcar. He won state championships in New South Wales and ACT in this sport.

Karting Success

Winterbottom raced in his first kart race in the Cadet class. This was in Wollongong, New South Wales. He continued to race karts successfully until he was 21. Mark won ten Australian Kart Championships. He also won 25 state Kart Championships. These wins helped him climb the karting ranks in Australia. His national titles included six Clubman Light titles. He also won three Junior National Lights titles and one Junior Clubman title.

In 1998, Winterbottom visited America on a family holiday. He heard about a big karting event nearby. He decided to rent a kart and compete at the last minute. Mark then won the Knoxville State Championship title race. In 1999, he was invited to compete in Japan. He raced at the Suzuka Champions Kart race. In 2001, Winterbottom became the Australian Formula A Kart Champion.

Formula Ford Racing

The Spectrum 09 car Mark Winterbottom drove in 2002. He finished 2nd in the championship.

In 2001, Winterbottom started racing in Formula Ford. This was in the Victorian Formula Ford Championship. He finished second overall, winning four out of six races. He missed one race because of his karting commitments. Mark won the Ford Kart Stars Scholarship Championship. This gave him a Ford-supported drive. It was for the 2002 Australian Formula Ford Championship.

He finished second in the 2002 Australian Formula Ford Championship. He had two round wins, five race wins, and two pole positions. The championship was won by Jamie Whincup. Whincup would become Winterbottom's future rival in V8 Supercars. Mark also received the 2002 Avon Formula Ford Rookie of the Year Award.

Professional Car Racing

Development Series Debut

In 2003, Winterbottom became the Konica V8 Supercar Series champion. This was in his very first season. He raced with the Ford team Stone Brothers Racing (SBR). He won five rounds and had six pole positions. It was an almost perfect season for him. Mark even won two races starting from the back of the grid. He only missed a clean sweep due to an engine problem. This happened in the fifth round at Phillip Island.

He also made his debut in the V8 Supercars Championship. This was at the Sandown 500 and Bathurst 1000 races. He shared a BA Falcon with Mark Noske for SBR. Winterbottom and Noske finished 11th at Sandown. They qualified 16th at the 2003 Bathurst 1000. They had to stop racing early due to engine problems. Mark was running in third place at the time. He received the Mike Kable Young Gun Award that year.

Larkham Motor Sport Years

Winterbottom joined Larkham Motor Sport (LMS), a Ford V8 Supercar team. He raced for them in 2004 and 2005. A highlight of his first season was finishing fifth at Bathurst. He also got a sixth-place result at Sandown in 2004. In 2005, his best qualifying spot was fifth. This was at the Darwin race. A tough moment was at the V8 Supercars China Round. A loose drain cover went through his car's floor. It damaged his driver's seat, but luckily he was not hurt.

Racing for Ford Performance Racing

2006 Season

Mark Winterbottom at the 2007 Desert 400 in Bahrain.

Winterbottom joined Ford Performance Racing (FPR) in 2006. He drove the number 5 Ford Credit Falcon. This continued his long connection with Ford Australia. He had been with Ford since his karting days.

He won his first V8 Supercars round with teammate Jason Bright. This was at the 2006 Betta Electrical 500. He also finished second overall at Pukekohe and Surfers Paradise. By mid-season, Mark had moved from 22nd to third in the championship. He added two more podium finishes. He was third at Symmons Plains Raceway and second at Phillip Island. At Phillip Island, he also won his first V8 Supercars sprint race. With nine top ten finishes, Winterbottom secured third place. This was in only his third year in the main V8 Supercar Series.

2007 Season

Winterbottom finished 5th in the championship. The best part was winning his first solo V8 Supercars round. This was at the Desert 400 in Bahrain. This win kept FPR's perfect record at that international race. Mark also got four pole positions. His first was at Pukekohe Park. He also got poles at the Sandown 500, Bathurst 1000, and the Desert 400. These four poles helped him win the 2007 V8 Supercars Pole Award. He went off the track late in the race while leading the 2007 Bathurst 1000. FPR signed Winterbottom to drive for them for three more years.

2008 Season

Winterbottom at Eastern Creek Raceway in 2008

A big highlight for Winterbottom in 2008 was winning at Barbagallo Raceway in Perth. He got pole position and won all three races. Mark also won the 2008 City of Ipswich 400 at Queensland Raceway. He had other good results at Adelaide, Eastern Creek, Surfers Paradise, and Symmons Plains. He finished second in the championship. He was just behind his old Formula Ford rival, Whincup.

2009 Season

Mark Winterbottom's Ford FG Falcon at the 2010 Clipsal 500 Adelaide.

The 2009 season was a bit tough for Winterbottom. He finished fifth in the championship. This was eight places better than his teammate Steven Richards. He won an event at the Gold Coast 600. He also got pole positions for races in New Zealand and at Winton Motor Raceway. However, he had problems in those races and didn't score many points. In a later race at Winton, he recovered to finish second. He also won a race at the non-championship V8 Supercars Challenge. This was held at the Australian Grand Prix.

2010 Season

In 2010, Winterbottom had a small chance to win the championship. This was before the final race in Sydney. But a crash in the wet conditions ended his title hopes. The crash also involved other top drivers like Whincup and James Courtney.

2011 Season

Winterbottom at the 2011 Ipswich 300

In 2011, Winterbottom finished third in the championship. He was behind the Triple Eight Race Engineering cars. He won two races that year. One was at the Gold Coast 600 with international co-driver Richard Lyons. The other was the final race of the year in Sydney.

2012 Season

Winterbottom's Ford FG Falcon at the 2012 Clipsal 500 Adelaide

Winterbottom finished the 2012 season in third place. He won three races in the middle of the season. Before the final race in Sydney, he was in second place. But he fell behind Craig Lowndes and finished third. Winterbottom also won the Barry Sheene Medal. This award is for the best and fairest driver in the series.

2013 Season

Winterbottom's Ford FG Falcon at the 2013 Clipsal 500 Adelaide

In 2013, Winterbottom achieved a huge win. He won the Bathurst 1000 on October 13. He won it with his former teammate Steven Richards. Despite this big win, he finished fourth in the championship. This was because he had a tough start to the season. He won three races in total that year. His teammate Will Davison finished just ahead of him in third. This helped FPR finish second in the Teams' Championship for the first time.

2014 Season

Winterbottom's Ford FG Falcon at the 2014 Clipsal 500 Adelaide

Winterbottom started 2014 very strongly. He led the championship by 161 points in June. Everyone hoped he would win his first title. However, his campaign struggled against the strong Triple Eight team. He did not win another race after the Darwin round. At the 2014 Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000, he had a chance to win again. But an incident with Craig Lowndes made him drop back. He finished fifth in that race. Like in 2012, he was second before the final round in Sydney. Whincup was too far ahead to catch. Then Shane van Gisbergen won the Sunday race. This pushed Winterbottom down to third in the standings.

Prodrive Racing Australia Era

2015 Championship Win

Winterbottom (left) racing Chaz Mostert (right) at the qualifying sprint race of the 2015 Sandown 500.

In 2015, Ford Performance Racing changed its name to Prodrive Racing Australia. This was because Ford reduced its support. The team introduced the new Ford FG X Falcon. This car brought a lot of success right away. Winterbottom won four races at a non-championship event. This was at the Australian Grand Prix. He then won eight more races in the middle of the year. This included winning all races at the 2015 Castrol Edge Townsville 400. These wins gave him a big lead in the championship.

Driving with Steve Owen, he won his ninth race of the year. This was at the 2015 Wilson Security Sandown 500. He then finished second at the 2015 Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000. Mark did not win any more races after Sandown. But he held on to win his first championship title. He secured it in a final showdown against Craig Lowndes. This happened at the last round in Sydney.

2016 Season

Winterbottom had a slow start defending his championship. He didn't get a podium finish until the fifth race. This was at Symmons Plains. His first win of the year was at the Perth SuperSprint. He held off Scott McLaughlin by less than half a second. Two podiums at Winton gave him the championship lead. But a bad event in Darwin made him drop back. He had solid results at Townsville and Queensland Raceway. This left him third in the championship before the winter break. However, his pace slowed in the second half of the season. He finished sixth in the championship. He only had one more win, at the Auckland SuperSprint.

2017 Season

Winterbottom's Ford FG X Falcon at the 2017 Clipsal 500 Adelaide

In 2017, Winterbottom had a year without any wins. This was the first time since he joined Ford Performance Racing in 2006. He achieved podium finishes at Phillip Island, Townsville, and Auckland. A low point was crashing out of the Bathurst 1000. This happened on the second-to-last lap while he was fighting for fifth place. Winterbottom finished sixth in the championship for the second year in a row. This was helped by Craig Lowndes' late retirement at the final race.

Tickford Racing Period

2018 Season

Winterbottom's Ford FG X Falcon at the 2018 Adelaide 500

In 2018, Prodrive Racing Australia was renamed Tickford Racing. Winterbottom started the year well with a top-five finish in Adelaide. But a penalty in the Sunday race dropped him down. The team had a tough start to the season. Winterbottom then got his and the team's first podium of the year. This was at the fifth event at Barbagallo. On November 1, it was confirmed that Winterbottom would leave Tickford Racing. This was after 13 years with the team. Despite a difficult final season, he finished 12th in the championship. He left the team with 412 race starts, 38 wins, 35 poles, and 117 podiums.

Team 18 Move

Before the 2018 Newcastle 500, Winterbottom announced his next move. He would join Team 18 in 2019. This was the first time in his career he would drive a Holden car.

Racing in Brazil

In 2014 and 2015, Winterbottom raced in Brazil. He appeared in the season-opening two-driver round of the Stock Car Brasil championship. He drove for Voxx Racing. In 2014, he finished fourth with Sérgio Jimenez. In 2015, he finished second with Marcos Gomes. Gomes went on to win his own championship title that year. Winterbottom returned to Brazil in 2018. He finished eleventh with Átila Abreu, even though he started from the back.

After leaving Tickford Racing, Winterbottom was offered a full-time spot in Brazil. He said the chance was "appealing" but turned it down. This was because it wasn't a firm contract.

About Mark's Life

Mark Winterbottom is the son of Jim Winterbottom. His father was a two-time Australian Sprintcar Champion. Jim also used to be the chairman of the Sprintcar Control Council of Australia. Mark went to Doonside Technology High School. He started playing soccer at age six. By eleven, he played for a state-level team. This team, Blacktown United, played matches across New South Wales. At age eleven, he decided to stop soccer to focus on motor racing.

Winterbottom lent his voice to the character 'Frosty' in the Australian release of the 2011 Pixar film Cars 2. He also appeared on TV. He was a contestant on Season 3 of the show Australia's Greatest Athlete in 2011.

Career Results

Karting Career Summary

Circuit Racing Career

Complete Bathurst 1000 Results

Year	Team	Car	Co-driver	Position	Laps
2003	Stone Brothers Racing	Ford Falcon BA	Mark Noske	DNF	102
2004	Larkham Motorsport	Ford Falcon BA	Jason Bargwanna	5th	161
2005	Larkham Motorsport	Ford Falcon BA	Jason Bargwanna	DNF	122
2006	Ford Performance Racing	Ford Falcon BA	Jason Bright	DNF	28
2007	Ford Performance Racing	Ford Falcon BF	Steven Richards	10th	161
2008	Ford Performance Racing	Ford Falcon BF	Steven Richards	4th	161
2009	Ford Performance Racing	Ford Falcon FG	Steven Richards	DNF	49
2010	Ford Performance Racing	Ford Falcon FG	Luke Youlden	9th	161
2011	Ford Performance Racing	Ford Falcon FG	Steven Richards	4th	161
2012	Ford Performance Racing	Ford Falcon FG	Steven Richards	11th	161
2013	Ford Performance Racing	Ford Falcon FG	Steven Richards	1st	161
2014	Ford Performance Racing	Ford Falcon FG	Steve Owen	6th	161
2015	Prodrive Racing Australia	Ford Falcon FG X	Steve Owen	2nd	161
2016	Prodrive Racing Australia	Ford Falcon FG X	Dean Canto	DNF	132
2017	Prodrive Racing Australia	Ford Falcon FG X	Dean Canto	DNF	159
2018	Tickford Racing	Ford Falcon FG X	Dean Canto	12th	161
2019	Charlie Schwerkolt Racing	Holden Commodore ZB	Steven Richards	6th	161
2020	Charlie Schwerkolt Racing	Holden Commodore ZB	James Golding	8th	161
2021	Charlie Schwerkolt Racing	Holden Commodore ZB	Michael Caruso	16th	161
2022	Charlie Schwerkolt Racing	Holden Commodore ZB	Michael Caruso	15th	161
2023	Charlie Schwerkolt Racing	Chevrolet Camaro Mk.6	Michael Caruso	DNF	160
2024	Charlie Schwerkolt Racing	Chevrolet Camaro Mk.6	Michael Caruso	18th	161

Complete Bathurst 12 Hour Results

Year	Team	Co-drivers	Car	Class	Laps	Overall position	Class position
2017	BMW Team SRM	Steven Richards Marco Wittmann	BMW M6 GT3	AP	281	14th	7th

Complete Stock Car Brasil Results

Images for kids

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  Winterbottom in 2020

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  The Spectrum 09 car Mark Winterbottom drove in 2002. He finished 2nd in the championship.

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  Mark Winterbottom at the 2007 Desert 400 in Bahrain.

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  Winterbottom at Eastern Creek Raceway in 2008

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  Mark Winterbottom's Ford FG Falcon at the 2010 Clipsal 500 Adelaide.

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  Winterbottom at the 2011 Ipswich 300

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  Winterbottom's Ford FG Falcon at the 2012 Clipsal 500 Adelaide

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  Winterbottom's Ford FG Falcon at the 2013 Clipsal 500 Adelaide

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  Winterbottom's Ford FG Falcon at the 2014 Clipsal 500 Adelaide

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  Winterbottom (left) racing Chaz Mostert (right) at the qualifying sprint race of the 2015 Sandown 500.

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  Winterbottom's Ford FG X Falcon at the 2017 Clipsal 500 Adelaide

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  Winterbottom's Ford FG X Falcon at the 2018 Adelaide 500

See also

In Spanish: Mark Winterbottom para niños