Mark Winterbottom has done it all in Supercars as a series and Bathurst champion, but few moments would have been as sweet as when he drove Team 18 to its maiden win in Darwin.
For Winterbottom himself, taking the chequered flag 0.4s ahead of Broc Feeney marked the end of the longest wait in his decorated career.
After collecting 38 wins within 10 years, “Frosty” has spent the last seven away from victory lane with his last success 2414 days ago at Pukekohe in 2016 during his Tickford, but for Team 18 the wait was even longer.
Since being formed in 2013, Charlie Schwerkolt’s squad has never got its hands on a P1 trophy.
They have come close in races such as Tasmania 2019 when Winterbottom started on pole, while Scott Pye fought at the front at Hidden Valley in 2020 and Adelaide last year.
Charlie Schwerkolt laps it up in the pits, finally getting to celebrate a Supercars victory. Image: Mark Horsburgh
However, things did not fall Team 18’s way and after recording just one top five result from the first 12 races of the Gen3 era, victory was not a likely scenario as Supercars braced for the Indigenous Round.
But through a slice of luck and some brilliant nerveless driving by Winterbottom, Team 18 has done it after 333 races and 3782 days of trying.
The man who has steered the ship through the entire journey was overcome with emotion.
“I am just blown away,” Schwerkolt said.
“What an incredible legend he (Mark) is. I knew it would happen one day because the team around here is fantastic.
“It has been a bit of a tough ride but far out it is good to get this one done.”
Even though Winterbottom has experienced the elation of winning the Bathurst 1000 following a last-lap showdown, he admitted this is near the top of his long list of career highlights.
Team 18 started a new chapter in 2019 when it poached “Frosty” from the “Blue Oval” and the 2015 champion has stayed loyal ever since.
Mark Winterbottom has been racing for Team 18 since Adelaide 2019. Photo by Dirk Klynsmith / LAT Images
Winterbottom has rode all the high and lows the team has experienced over the last four years, which is why he is so proud to deliver their breakthrough success.
“This is just unbelievable. It is one of the biggest wins of our lives,” “Frosty said on Fox Sports.
“There are guys like our apprentice Will, who has watched all these other teams get trophies and I promised ours will come.
“I have had success previously but I really wanted to do it with this group, so for guys like him who get their first trophy makes me so proud.”
Although luck was on Team 18’s side with Cameron Waters forced to retire from the lead due to a fire, the win was also made possible by former Tickford star Winterbottom.
“Frosty” turned back the clock by utilising the same skills that made him a Supercars winning machine between 2006 and 2016 to get the job done.
Mark Winterbottom scored his last win in 2016. Image: Daniel Kalisz/LAT Photographic
Cart #18 started third, but gained track position on Feeney after muscling his way past on the exit of the first turn on the opening lap.
This move ensured Winterbottom took the lead when the Monster Mustang went up in flames.
But “Frosty” still had to survive two Safety Car restarts over the last 32 laps and fend off a driver, who was yet to celebrate his first birthday when Winterbottom made his debut.
The 2013 Bathurst 1000 winner revealed he used all of his experience to fend off Feeney in their nail-biting battle for the win.
“It is good that I can remember how to win. You don’t forget how to drive, but you forget what it feels like,” Winterbottom said.
“Once I was in front I kept letting Broc catch me and then drop him. I kept overheating his brakes and could see him pull out. When he did that I was like ‘got you’.
“I was really trying to narrow up the corner exits to protect the rears and I kept looking behind especially through Turn 7 because Feeney was really wide all the time and I was like ‘that is going to burn you up’ but when you are in front you can dictate the play.”
Mark Winterbottom climbs the Turn 11 kerb on his way to scoring Team 18’s maiden win. Image: Mark Horsburgh
The win was an emphatic way for Winterbottom to silence his critics and show why he is still on the grid 20 years and 606 races on from his debut for Stone Brothers Racing.
His milestone weekend at Perth proved to be a disaster, while Tasmania was a middling weekend where car #18 eventually snuck into the top 10 in the finale.
But Team 18 wanted more and Winterbottom revealed he entered the Darwin Triple Crown with a new approach, which has paid off handsomely.
“We did not test in that little gap (post Tasmania) and you cannot just build an upright or roll bars on this car, you just have to work with what you have got,” he said.
“We just used these three weeks to really crunch out numbers and there are some parts we have probably made work better this weekend.”
Now with the breakthrough success that has been at front of mind ever since he first walked into the team in 2019, Winterbottom has ambitions to snatch even more silverware.
“We get emotional because we put so much work in,” he said.
“There were a lot of promises when we signed the deal and I told Charlie when I joined we were going to win.
“It has taken a while, but getting the first one is so hard to get and now we can truck on from here.”
Team 18 will be aiming for more success when the Darwin Triple Crown resumes tomorrow.
Sunday, June 18
Qualifying (Race 14): 10.00-10.15
Qualifying (Race 15): 10.20-10.35
Race 14 (35 laps): 12.20-13.18
Race 15 (35 laps): 15.55-16.53
Download the full Supercars Darwin Round 5 Event Guide with track stats and facts and a full event schedule, plus our extensive driver profiles HERE
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