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 professional racing driver. He is known for his exciting career in the Supercars Championship. He last raced full-time in the Repco Supercars Championship for Team 18.

Mark has achieved many great things in his career. He won the famous 2013 Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 race with Steven Richards. He also won the Sandown 500 race twice, in 2006 and 2015. In 2003, he received the Mike Kable Young Gun Award, which is a special award for new talented drivers. Mark also won his first championship title in 2015. This was a big win for Ford, as it was their first title in five years.

Mark stopped racing full-time at the end of the 2024 Supercars Championship. However, he plans to continue racing in special endurance races for Tickford Racing. He will drive alongside Cameron Waters in these events.

Mark's Early Racing Days

Starting Out in Motorsport

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

Karting Adventures

Mark's first kart race was in the Cadet class in Wollongong. He continued racing karts successfully until he was 21. Mark won ten Australian Kart Championships. He also won 25 state Kart Championships. These wins showed he was a rising star in karting.

In 1998, Mark visited America and decided to race in a karting event. He rented a kart and won the Knoxville State Championship. In 1999, he was invited to race in Japan at the Suzuka Champions Kart race. In 2001, Mark became the Australian Formula A Kart Champion.

Racing in Formula Ford

The Spectrum 09 car Mark Winterbottom drove in 2002.

In 2001, Mark started racing in Formula Ford. He finished second in the Victorian Formula Ford Championship, winning four out of six races. He won the Ford Kart Stars Scholarship. This gave him a chance to race with support from Ford in the 2002 Australian Formula Ford Championship.

In 2002, he finished second in the Australian Formula Ford Championship. He won two rounds and five races. He also got two pole positions, meaning he started from the very front. The championship was won by Jamie Whincup, who later became his rival in V8 Supercars. Mark also received the 2002 Avon Formula Ford Rookie of the Year Award.

Mark's Touring Car Career

Development Series Success

In 2003, Mark Winterbottom became the Konica V8 Supercar Series champion. This was his very first season in the series! He raced for the Ford team Stone Brothers Racing (SBR). He won five rounds and got six pole positions. He almost had a perfect season. Mark even won two races starting from the back of the field.

He also made his first appearances in the main V8 Supercars Championship. He raced at the Sandown 500 and Bathurst 1000 with SBR. He finished 11th at Sandown. At the 2003 Bathurst 1000, he started 16th and was running third before his engine had problems. He received the Mike Kable Young Gun Award for his impressive start.

Time with Larkham Motor Sport

Mark joined Larkham Motor Sport (LMS) for the 2004 and 2005 V8 Supercar championships. In 2004, he finished fifth at Bathurst and sixth at Sandown. His best qualifying spot was fifth in Darwin in 2005. A tough moment was in China when a loose drain cover damaged his car. Luckily, Mark was not hurt.

Racing for Ford Performance Racing

2006 Season

Mark Winterbottom racing in Bahrain in 2007.

In 2006, Mark joined Ford Performance Racing (FPR). He drove the number 5 Ford Credit Falcon. This continued his long connection with Ford Australia.

He won his first V8 Supercars race with co-driver Jason Bright at the 2006 Betta Electrical 500. He also finished second overall at Pukekohe and Surfers Paradise. Mark climbed from 22nd to third in the championship standings. He had nine top ten finishes that season. He ended up in third place in the Drivers' Championship in only his third year.

2007 Season

Mark finished 5th in the championship in 2007. A big highlight was winning his first solo V8 Supercars round. This happened at the Desert 400 in Bahrain. He also got four pole positions, including his first at Pukekohe Park. These four poles helped him win the 2007 V8 Supercars Pole Award. FPR signed Mark for three more years.

2008 Season

Mark Winterbottom at Eastern Creek Raceway in 2008.

In 2008, Mark had a fantastic win at the BigPond 400 in Perth. He started from pole position and won all three races. He also won the 2008 City of Ipswich 400 at Queensland Raceway. Mark finished second in the championship, just behind his old Formula Ford rival, Jamie Whincup.

2009 Season

Mark Winterbottom's Ford FG Falcon car in 2010.

The 2009 season was a bit challenging for Mark. He finished fifth in the championship. He won an event at the Gold Coast 600. He also got pole positions in New Zealand and Winton. He won a race at the V8 Supercars Challenge, which was a non-championship event.

2010 Season

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

2011 Season

Mark Winterbottom at the 2011 Ipswich 300 race.

Mark finished third in 2011, behind the Triple Eight Race Engineering cars. He won two races. One was at the Gold Coast 600 with international co-driver Richard Lyons. The other was the final race of the year at the Sydney 500.

2012 Season

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

Mark finished third in the 2012 season. He won three races in the middle of the year. He was second before the final race in Sydney but finished third overall. Mark also won the Barry Sheene Medal. This award is for the best and fairest driver in the series.

2013 Season

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

In 2013, Mark Winterbottom achieved a huge goal. He won the 2013 Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 race with his former teammate Steven Richards. This was on October 13. Despite this big win, he finished fourth in the championship. He had three race wins 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

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

Mark started the 2014 season very strongly. He led the championship by a good margin after the Darwin race in June. Everyone hoped he would win his first title. However, his performance dropped off later in the year. He did not win any more races after Darwin. At the 2014 Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000, he was close to winning again. But an incident with Craig Lowndes caused him to drop back. He finished fifth. He ended the season in third place.

Racing for Prodrive Racing Australia

2015 Season: Championship Win!

Mark Winterbottom (left) racing Chaz Mostert (right) in 2015.

In 2015, Ford Performance Racing changed its name to Prodrive Racing Australia. This was because Ford reduced its support. The new team and the new Ford FG X Falcon car brought immediate success. Mark won four races at a non-championship event at the Australian Grand Prix. He then won eight more races during the championship year. This included winning every race at the 2015 Castrol Edge Townsville 400.

These wins gave Mark a big lead before the endurance races. With Steve Owen as his co-driver, Mark won his ninth race of the year at the 2015 Wilson Security Sandown 500. He then finished second at the 2015 Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000. Even though he didn't win any more races after Sandown, Mark held on. He secured his first championship title in a final battle against Craig Lowndes at the Sydney 500. This was a huge achievement for him!

2016 Season

Mark had a slow start to his championship defense in 2016. He didn't get on the podium until the fifth race. His first win of the year was at the 2016 Perth SuperSprint. He held off Scott McLaughlin by a tiny margin. Two podium finishes at Winton gave him the championship lead. But a tough event in Darwin dropped him back. He finished sixth in the championship that year. He had one more race victory at the 2016 ITM Auckland SuperSprint.

2017 Season

Mark Winterbottom's Ford FG X Falcon in 2017.

In 2017, Mark had a year without any wins. This was the first time since he joined Ford Performance Racing in 2006. He still got on the podium at Phillip Island, Townsville, and Auckland. A low point was crashing out of the 2017 Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 on the second-to-last lap. He finished sixth in the championship for the second year in a row.

Moving to Tickford Racing

2018 Season

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

In 2018, Prodrive Racing Australia was renamed again to Tickford Racing. Mark started the year well with a top-five finish in Adelaide. But a pit lane penalty dropped him back in the next race. The team had a difficult start to the season. Mark scored his and the team's first podium of the year at the fifth event in Barbagallo.

On November 1, it was confirmed that Mark would leave Tickford Racing. This was after 13 years with the team. Even though his final season was tough, he finished 12th in the championship. Mark left the team with an amazing record: 412 race starts, 38 wins, 35 pole positions, and 117 podium finishes.

Joining Team 18

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

Racing in Stock Car Brasil

Mark also raced in the Stock Car Brasil championship in 2014 and 2015. These were special two-driver races at the start of the season. In 2014, he finished fourth with Sérgio Jimenez. In 2015, he finished second with Marcos Gomes. Gomes went on to win the championship that year. Mark returned to Brazil in 2018 and finished eleventh.

After leaving Tickford Racing, Mark had an offer to race full-time in Brazil in 2019. He said it sounded "appealing" but decided not to take the offer.

Mark's Personal Life

Mark Winterbottom comes from a racing family. His father, Jim Winterbottom, was an Australian Sprintcar Champion in 1969 and 1974. 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 age eleven, he was playing for a state-level team, Blacktown United. They played matches all over New South Wales. At age eleven, Mark decided to stop playing soccer to focus on his dream of motor racing.

Mark also lent his voice to a character named 'Frosty' in the Australian version of the 2011 Pixar movie Cars 2. He also appeared as a contestant on Australia's Greatest Athlete in 2011.

Career Results Summary

Karting Career Highlights

Circuit Racing Career Summary

Bathurst 1000 Race 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

Bathurst 12 Hour Race 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

Stock Car Brasil Race Results

See also

In Spanish: Mark Winterbottom para niños