THERE are four drivers with multiple top-two finishes in the 2024 Repco Supercars Championship: Will Brown, Broc Feeney, Chaz Mostert, and… Mark Winterbottom.
At age 43 and off-contract at the end of the year, Winterbottom’s seat at Team 18 is bound to be a silly season talking point.
But the 2015 champion is showing he’s still capable of running at the front – and he’s not about to wave the white flag and step aside.
“I don’t worry about the contract stuff. You get trophies, you get contracts,” he told V8 Sleuth.
“That’s kind of how it is, but I’m not incentivised by a contract to get trophies. I’m hungry. I’m really hungry to win races. I hate losing.”
Having gone through the building years with Team 18 (four podium-less seasons before breaking through for a race win in 2023), the good times are starting to roll and Winterbottom very much wants to be part of the next phase.
“I’d hate to miss this window,” he said.
“I think Team 18, I’ve battled the hard years; there’s definitely good stuff to come and I want to be a part of it.
“I’ve helped contribute to it and I love racing for Charlie (Schwerkolt), I love racing with Dave (Reynolds, teammate), and I think we’re just scratching the surface, so I’d love to stay.”
‘Frosty’, who has recorded podiums this year at Albert Park and Hidden Valley, is so focused on his job behind the wheel that he says he hasn’t yet even mulled how his post-racing life might look.
Re-energised by an off-season overhaul that centred around the recruitment of Adrian Burgess as team principal, Geoff Slater as technical director and Som Sharma as Car #18 race engineer, Winterbottom believes Team 18 is better placed than ever before.
There have been ups and downs in 2024, but their past two track outings (Winton mid-season test and the Darwin Triple Crown) have inspired hope that better consistency is around the corner.
“What worked at Winton, worked at Darwin, where previously what worked at Winton didn’t work at Darwin,” said Winterbottom.
“So we’re on the edge of something which should unlock a few more trophies hopefully in the coming rounds.”
