Mark James "Frosty" Winterbottom (born 20 May 1981) is an Australian former professional racing driver. He last competed in the Repco Supercars Championship, driving the No. 18

Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 The Chevrolet Camaro is a mid-size American automobile manufactured by Chevrolet, classified as a pony car. It first went on sale on September 29, 1966, for the 1967 model year and was designed to compete with the Ford Mustang. The Camaro shar ...

for

Team 18 Team 18 (formerly known as Charlie Schwerkolt Racing) is an Australian motor racing team currently competing in the Supercars Championship, running two Chevrolet Camaro ZL1s. The team's current drivers are Anton De Pasquale and David Reynolds ...

. His career highlights included winning the

2013 Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 The 2013 Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 was an Australian touring car motor race for V8 Supercars, the twenty-ninth race of the 2013 International V8 Supercars Championship. It was held on 13 October 2013 at the Mount Panorama Circuit in Bath ...

(with

Steven Richards Steven James Richards (born 11 July 1972) is a New Zealand-Australian racing driver, currently competing in the Porsche Carrera Cup Australia Championship. Richards, the son of seven-time Bathurst 1000 winner Jim Richards (race driver), Jim Ri ...

), twice winning the Sandown 500 (2006 and 2015) and receiving the Mike Kable Young Gun Award in 2003. Winterbottom has also won his maiden championship title in the

2015 International V8 Supercars Championship The 2015 International V8 Supercars Championship (often simplified to the 2015 V8 Supercars Championship) was an Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile, FIA-sanctioned international auto racing series for V8 Supercars. It was the sevent ...

, making it the first title for

Ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...

in five years. He also voices himself in the Australian version of the hit 2011

Pixar Pixar (), doing business as Pixar Animation Studios, is an American animation studio based in Emeryville, California, known for its critically and commercially successful computer-animated feature films. Pixar is a subsidiary of Walt Disney ...

film, ''

Cars 2 ''Cars 2'' is a 2011 American animated spy comedy film produced by Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures. It is the sequel to '' Cars'' (2006), the second film in the ''Cars'' franchise, and the 12th animated film from the studio ...

''. He retired from main driving at the end of the 2024 Supercars Championship, but promised to only race in the endurance for Tickford Racing, driving alongside Cameron Waters.

Early career

Beginnings

Winterbottom made his motorsport debut racing motorbikes, racing in club level 50 cc events, progressing to the 80 cc class and competing in fields that included riders

Anthony Gobert Anthony Stephen Gobert (5 March 1975 – 17 January 2024) was an Australian professional motorcycle road racer, nicknamed The Go Show. He was a rider of immense promise and talent who had his career derailed by a personal struggle with alcohol ...

and

Chad Reed Chad Mark Reed (born 15 March 1982, in Kurri Kurri, Australia) is an Indigenous Australian motocross and supercross racer. He is a two-time AMA Supercross 450cc champion, a one-time AMA Motocross 450cc champion, record holder for the most main ...

. Winterbottom raced whenever he could between his

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

commitments. Raced a dirt Mini-Speedcar and won the NSW and ACT State Championships.

Karting

Winterbottom competed in his first

kart A go-kart, also written as go-cart (often referred to as simply a kart), is a type of small sports car, close wheeled car, open-wheel car or quadracycle. Go-karts come in all shapes and forms, from non-motorised models to high-performance ...

race in the Cadet class at

Wollongong Wollongong ( ; Dharawal: ''Woolyungah'') is a city located in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia. The name is believed to originate from the Dharawal language, meaning either 'five islands/clouds', 'ground near water' or 'sound ...

(NSW) and would continue racing karts successfully to the age of 21. Winterbottom won ten Australian Kart Championships and 25 state Kart Championships during his rise through Australia's karting ranks. Winterbottom's national titles were six Clubman Light titles, three Junior National Lights titles and one Junior Clubman title. In 1998, Winterbottom visited America on a family holiday and heard about a major karting event taking place close by – so a last-minute decision was made to rent a kart locally and compete. Winterbottom then won the Knoxville State Championship title race. In 1999 he competed in Japan at the Suzuka Champions Kart race on invitation. In 2001, Winterbottom was crowned as Australian Formula A Kart Champion.

Formula Ford

In 2001, Winterbottom made his

Formula Ford Formula Ford, also known as F1600 and Formula F, is an entry-level class of single-seater, open-wheel formula racing. The various championships held across the world have historically been an important step for many prospective Formula One dri ...

debut in the Victorian Formula Ford Championship. Winterbottom raced to runner-up honours after winning four races out of six rounds, missing one round due to karting commitments. He won the Ford Kart Stars Scholarship Championship, gaining a

-supported drive in the

2002 Australian Formula Ford Championship The 2002 Australian Formula Ford Championship was a CAMS sanctioned Australian motor racing title open to Formula Ford racing cars. It was the tenth Australian Formula Ford Championship. The title was won by Jamie Whincup driving a Van Diemen RF ...

. He finished second in the

with two round victories, five race wins and two pole positions. The championship was won by Winterbottom's future V8 Supercars rival

Jamie Whincup Jamie David Whincup (born 6 February 1983) is an Australian professional racing driver competing in the Supercars Championship. He currently is team principal for Triple Eight Race Engineering. He has driven the No. 88 Holden Commodore (ZB), Ho ...

. He was presented with 2002 Avon Formula Ford Rookie of the Year Award.

Touring car career

Development Series

In 2003, Winterbottom became the Konica V8 Supercar Series champion in his debut season. Winterbottom raced with Ford team

Stone Brothers Racing Stone Brothers Racing (SBR) was an Australian motor racing team that competed in the International V8 Supercars Championship between 1998 and 2012. The team was formed in 1998 when Ross and Jim Stone bought Alan Jones (racing driver), Alan J ...

(SBR) to five round victories and six pole positions in an almost perfect season. Two of Winterbottom's race victories were gained from rear-of-field reverse grid starts. He missed out on making a clean sweep of the series due to an engine failure in the fifth round at

Phillip Island Phillip Island (Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung: ''Corriong'', ''Worne'' or ''Millowl'') is an Australian island about south-southeast of Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria. The island is named after Arthur Phillip, Governor Arthur P ...

. He also debuted in the V8 Supercars Championship at the

Sandown 500 The Sandown 500 (commercially titled Penrite, Penrite Oil Sandown 500) is an annual endurance racing (motorsport), endurance Auto racing, motor race which is staged at the Sandown Raceway, near Melbourne, Victoria, Australia from 1964. The even ...

and

Bathurst 1000 The Bathurst 1000 (known for sponsorship reasons as the Repco Bathurst 1000) is a Touring car racing, touring car race held annually on the Mount Panorama Circuit in Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia. It is currently run as part of the Supe ...

with SBR, sharing a BA Falcon with

Mark Noske Mark Anthony Noske (born 25 July 1975) is a former Australian racing car driver. He has scored round wins in various Australian championships including the Australian Drivers' Championship, the Australian Formula Ford Championship and the Au ...

. Winterbottom and Noske finished 11th at Sandown, before qualifying 16th at the

2003 Bathurst 1000 The 2003 Bob Jane T-Marts 1000 was a motor race for V8 Supercars held on 12 October 2003 at the Mount Panorama Circuit just outside Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia. It was the seventh running of the Australia 1000 race, first held after ...

and then retiring at three-quarter distance whilst running in third with engine problems. He was the recipient of the

Mike Kable Young Gun Award The Mike Kable Young Gun Award (also called the Mike Kable Rookie of the Year) is an annual motor racing award honouring the achievements of a rookie driver under the age of 30 who competes in either the Supercars Championship, the second-tier Sup ...

Larkham Motor Sport

Winterbottom joined Ford V8 Supercar team

Larkham Motor Sport Larkham Motorsport was a motorsport team contesting the V8 Supercar Championship between 1995 and 2005. History Larkham Motorsport was formed in 1990 with the intent of furthering Mark Larkham's career after he won the 1989 Australian Formula ...

(LMS) and competed in the

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

and

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

V8 Supercar championships. Highlights of his debut season included a fifth-place finish at Bathurst and sixth-place result at Sandown in 2004. Winterbottom's best qualifying result was fifth at the Darwin round in 2005. The lowlight was at the

V8 Supercars China Round The V8 Supercars China Round (formally known as the Buick V8 Supercars China Round) was a motor racing event for V8 Supercars that took place at the Shanghai International Circuit in Shanghai, China, in 2005. History The China Round was announce ...

in which Winterbottom avoided injury after a loose drain cover penetrated the chassis floor and damaged the driver's seat.

Ford Performance Racing

2006

Winterbottom joined

Ford Performance Racing Tickford Racing (formerly known as Prodrive Racing Australia and Ford Performance Racing) is an Australian motor racing team which competes in the Supercars Championship. The team currently campaigns two Ford Mustangs, with their current driv ...

(FPR) as driver of the number 5 Ford Credit Falcon for the

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

and

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

V8 Supercar championship seasons. This appointment continued Winterbottom's career-long involvement with

Ford Australia Ford Motor Company of Australia Limited (known by its trading name Ford Australia) is the Australian subsidiary of Automotive industry in the United States, United States–based automaker Ford Motor Company. It was founded in 1925 as an Austral ...

from the karting ranks all the way to a lead role with Ford's major V8 Supercars team. He claimed his first V8 Supercars round victory co-driving with

Jason Bright Jason Paul Bright (born 7 March 1973) is a retired Australian racing driver who competed in the Supercars Championship, Virgin Australia Supercars Championship. He drove the No. 56 Ford Falcon (FG X), Ford FG X Falcon for Britek Motorsport, a ...

at the 2006 Betta Electrical 500 and gained second place overall round finishes at

Pukekohe Pukekohe is a town in the Auckland Region of the North Island of New Zealand. The town is located at the southern edge of the Auckland Region, between the southern shore of the Manukau Harbour and the mouth of the Waikato River. The hills of Puke ...

and

Surfers Paradise Surfing is a list of surface water sports, surface water sport in which an individual, a surfer (or two in Glossary of surfing, tandem surfing), uses a board to ride on the forward section, or face, of a moving wind wave, wave of water, whic ...

. By the midpoint of the season, Winterbottom had climbed from 22nd to third in the championship standings and added two further podium finishes with a third at

Symmons Plains Raceway Symmons Plains Raceway is a motor racing circuit in Australia, located about south of Launceston, Tasmania. Since the closure of the Longford Circuit in the 1960s it has been Tasmania's premier motor racing facility. The circuit is one of th ...

and second at Phillip Island. Phillip Island also saw Winterbottom achieve his first V8 Supercars sprint race victory. With nine top ten finishes for the season, Winterbottom had secured third place in the Drivers' Championship in just his third season of main V8 Supercar Series competition.

2007

Winterbottom achieved 5th in the championship, with the highlight being winning his first solo V8 Supercars round at the

Desert 400 The Desert 400 was a V8 Supercar motor racing event held at the Bahrain International Circuit in Manama, Bahrain. It was held from 2006 to 2008 and in 2010. History First held in 2006, the Desert 400 was only the second V8 Supercar championship ...

Bahrain Bahrain, officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, is an island country in West Asia. Situated on the Persian Gulf, it comprises a small archipelago of 50 natural islands and an additional 33 artificial islands, centered on Bahrain Island, which mak ...

, preserving FPR's undefeated record at the international round. Winterbottom also gained four pole positions, including his first at Pukekohe Park, which was followed by poles at the Sandown 500, Bathurst 1000 and at the Desert 400. These four poles allowed him to claim the 2007 V8 Supercars Pole Award. Winterbottom went off late in the race whilst leading the

2007 Bathurst 1000 The 2007 Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 was an endurance race for V8 Supercars, held on 7 October 2007 at the Mount Panorama Circuit near Bathurst in New South Wales, Australia. It was the tenth round of the 2007 V8 Supercar Championship Serie ...

. FPR secured Winterbottom as the driver of the number 5 FPR Falcon for a further three years.

2008

Winterbottom's highlight of 2008 was a dominant round victory at the

BigPond 400 The Perth Super 440 is the current name of the annual motor racing event for Supercars, held at Wanneroo Raceway in Wanneroo, Western Australia. The event has been a regular part of the Supercars Championship and its predecessor, the Australia ...

at Wanneroo's

Barbagallo Raceway Wanneroo Raceway, currently known as CARCO.com.au Raceway for naming rights reasons, is a motorsport circuit located in Neerabup, approximately north of Perth in Western Australia. It was built by the WA Sporting Car Club. The circuit was ...

in Perth, Western Australia. Winterbottom achieved pole position and wins in all three races. Winterbottom also won the 2008 City of Ipswich 400 at

Queensland Raceway Queensland Raceway nicknamed "the paperclip" is a motor racing circuit located at Willowbank, Queensland, Willowbank in Ipswich, Queensland, Ipswich, Queensland, Australia. The circuit hosted Supercars Championship until 2019, Drifting (motor ...

. With further good results at

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

Eastern Creek Eastern Creek may refer to: * Eastern Creek (New South Wales), a tributary watercourse in the Hawkesbury-Nepean catchment * Eastern Creek, New South Wales, a suburb in Western Sydney bisected by Eastern Creek * Sydney Motorsport Park, formerly ...

, Surfers Paradise and Symmons Plains, he placed second in the championship, just behind his former Formula Ford rival Whincup.

2009

Winterbottom experienced a challenging season, finishing in fifth position in the championship, eight places ahead of team-mate

. His highlights included an event win at the

Gold Coast 600 The Gold Coast 500 (known for sponsorship reasons as the Boost Mobile (Australia), Boost Mobile Gold Coast 500) is an annual motor racing event for Supercars Championship, Supercars, held at the Surfers Paradise Street Circuit in Surfers Parad ...

and pole positions for Race 3 of the championship at the

Hamilton 400 The Hamilton 400 was a V8 Supercar motor racing event held on the Hamilton Street Circuit, Hamilton, New Zealand. The event was held from 2008 to 2012, and is one of only three New Zealand circuits to host a championship round of V8 Supercars. ...

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

, and race 5 at

Winton Motor Raceway Winton Motor Raceway is a motor racing track in Winton, near Benalla, Victoria, Australia. History The Benalla Auto Club began planning for a permanent racing track around 1958, as a replacement for their existing track at Barjarg. In 1960 i ...

. On both occasions, he had troublesome races which resulted in little or no points for the championship. In race 6 at Winton, Winterbottom recovered from the difficulties of race 5 to finish in second position. He also won a race at the

V8 Supercars Challenge The Supercars Challenge was an annual non-championship motor racing event held for cars from the Supercars Championship, and formerly from V8 Supercars, the Shell Championship Series and the Australian Touring Car Championship. The event was he ...

non-championship round at the

Australian Grand Prix The Australian Grand Prix is an annual Formula One motor racing event, taking place in Melbourne, Victoria. The event is contracted to be held at least until 2035. One of the oldest surviving motorsport competitions held in Australia, the Gran ...

2010

In 2010, Winterbottom was a distant yet mathematical chance of winning the championship title heading into the final round, the

Sydney 500 The Sydney 500 was an annual motor racing event for Supercars Championship, Supercars, held at the Homebush Street Circuit in Sydney Olympic Park, New South Wales, Australia. The event was a regular part of the Supercars Championship from 2009 ...

. However a crash, which ironically also involved fellow contenders Whincup and

James Courtney James Anthony Courtney (born 29 June 1980) is an Australian racing driver competing in the Supercars Championship, Repco Supercars Championship. He currently drives the No. 7 Ford Mustang (sixth generation), Ford Mustang GT for Blanchard Racin ...

, in wet conditions in the Saturday race ruled Winterbottom out of the title race.

2011

In 2011, Winterbottom finished a distant third to the

Triple Eight Race Engineering Triple Eight Race Engineering, branded as Red Bull Ampol Racing in Supercars, is an Australian motor racing team competing in the Supercars Championship. The team has been the only Brisbane-based V8 Supercar team since its formation, originall ...

cars. He scored two wins, at the Gold Coast 600 with international co-driver Richard Lyons and in the final race of the year at the Sydney 500.

2012

Winterbottom finished the season in third position, with three race wins in the middle of the season. Before the final round of the championship, the Sydney 500 on the

Homebush Street Circuit The Homebush Street Circuit, also known as the Sydney Olympic Park Street Circuit, was a temporary street circuit around the former 2000 Summer Olympics, Olympic precinct at Sydney Olympic Park, New South Wales, Sydney Olympic Park, Homebush B ...

, Winterbottom was in second, but fell behind

Craig Lowndes Craig Andrew Lowndes (born 21 June 1974) is an Australian racing car driver in the Supercars Championship, Repco Supercars Championship racing for Triple Eight Race Engineering. He is also a TV commentator. Lowndes is a three-time V8 Superca ...

to finish third. Winterbottom also claimed the coveted Barry Sheene Medal for the best and fairest driver in the series.

2013

In 2013, Winterbottom won the

alongside ex-teammate Steven Richards on 13 October. However, due to a poor start to the championship, Winterbottom was only able to finish fourth in the championship, with three race wins. Teammate

Will Davison William Davison (born 30 August 1982) is an Australian professional racing driver. He currently drives the No.17 Ford Mustang (sixth generation), Ford Mustang GT for Dick Johnson Racing in the Supercars Championship, Repco Supercars Championshi ...

finished narrowly ahead in third, aiding FPR's rise in the Teams' Championship to finish second for the first time.

2014

In 2014 Winterbottom started the season very well, leading the championship by 161 points after the 2014 Skycity Triple Crown in June. Despite high hopes of claiming his first title, Winterbottom's campaign ultimately crumbled against the Triple Eight juggernaut. He did not win another race after the Darwin round. At the 2014 Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000, Winterbottom was a chance of going back-to-back late in the race, until an incident with an attacking Craig Lowndes resulted in him dropping back, and eventually recovering to take a fifth-place finish. As in 2012, going into the final round in Sydney, Winterbottom was second with Whincup in first and out of reach. However,

Shane van Gisbergen Shane Robert van Gisbergen (born 9 May 1989), also known by his initials SVG, is a New Zealand professional auto racing, racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 88 Chevrolet Camaro (sixth generation)#ZL1, C ...

won the Sunday race to demote Winterbottom to third in the standings.

Prodrive Racing Australia

2015

In 2015, Prodrive Racing Australia (the new name for Ford Performance Racing, due to reduced support from Ford) debuted the

Ford FG X Falcon The Ford Falcon (FG X) is a full-size car that was produced by Ford Australia. Introduced in 2014, it is a restyled second and final iteration of the seventh generation Falcon FG. While external and drive train changes were significant, the inte ...

, and it brought considerable success almost immediately, with Winterbottom taking four wins out of four races at the non-championship V8 Supercars Challenge event at the Australian Grand Prix. Winterbottom then achieved eight race wins in the middle part of the championship year, including a clean-sweep of the 2015 Castrol Edge Townsville 400. This resulted in Winterbottom taking a large championship lead into the endurance races. Driving with Steve Owen, Winterbottom then went on to increase his lead with his ninth win of the year at the 2015 Wilson Security Sandown 500, before finishing second at the

2015 Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 The 2015 Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 was a motor race for V8 Supercars held on 11 October 2015 at the Mount Panorama Circuit, Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia. It was the twenty-fifth race of the 2015 International V8 Supercars Champ ...

. Despite not winning a race after Sandown, Winterbottom held on to secure his first championship title in a showdown against Craig Lowndes at the final round, the

2016

Winterbottom had a slow start to his championship defence, not achieving a podium finish until the fifth race of the season at Symmons Plains. Winterbottom's first victory of the year was at the

Perth SuperSprint The Perth Super 440 is the current name of the annual motor racing event for Supercars, held at Wanneroo Raceway in Wanneroo, Western Australia. The event has been a regular part of the Supercars Championship and its predecessor, the Australian ...

, where on older tyres he held off

Scott McLaughlin Scott Thomas McLaughlin (; born 10 June 1993) is a New Zealand racing driver. He competes in the IndyCar Series, driving the No. 3 Dallara-Chevrolet for Team Penske. He previously raced in the Supercars Championship, in which he won the driver ...

by under half a second. Two podiums at Winton gave Winterbottom the championship lead, before a poor event in Darwin dropped him back in the standings. Solid results at

Townsville The City of Townsville is a city on the north-eastern coast of Queensland, Australia. With a population of 201,313 as of 2024, it is the largest settlement in North Queensland and Northern Australia (specifically, the parts of Australia north of ...

and

followed, leaving Winterbottom third in the championship standings before the winter break. However, a decline in pace in the second half of the season left Winterbottom to finish sixth in the championship, with only one further race victory, at the Auckland SuperSprint.

2017

2017 saw Winterbottom complete a winless year for the first time since moving to Ford Performance Racing in 2006. Highlights included podiums at the

Phillip Island 500 The Phillip Island 500 was an annual motor racing event, last held for Supercars at the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit in Phillip Island, Victoria. The race had three distinct eras; from 1971 to 1977 as an endurance production and later Austral ...

Townsville 400 The Townsville 500 (formally known as the NTI Townsville 500) is an annual motor racing event for Supercars, held on the Reid Park Street Circuit in Townsville, Queensland, Australia. The event has been held since 2009. The event was known ...

and Auckland SuperSprint, while the lowlight was crashing out of the

on the penultimate lap while battling for fifth place. Winterbottom secured sixth in the championship for the second consecutive year, albeit only after Craig Lowndes' late retirement at the season-ending

Newcastle 500 The Newcastle 500 was an annual motor racing event for Supercars Championship, Supercars, held at the Newcastle Street Circuit in Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia in 2017 Newcastle 500, 2017, 2018 Newcastle 500, 2018, 2019 Newcastle 500, 2 ...

Tickford Racing

2018

In 2018, Prodrive Racing Australia was again renamed, to Tickford Racing, and Winterbottom began the year with a top five Saturday result at the

Adelaide 500 The Adelaide 500, officially the BP Adelaide Grand Final, is an annual motor racing event for Supercars held on the streets of the east end of Adelaide, South Australia between 1999 and 2020 and again from 2022. The event uses a shortened form ...

before a pit lane penalty dropped him down the field in the Sunday race. His fortunes did not improve, with Tickford Racing enduring a difficult start to the season until Winterbottom scored both his and Tickford Racing's first race podium of the year at the fifth event at Barbagallo. It was confirmed on 1 November that Winterbottom would leave Tickford Racing at the end of the 2018 season, after 13 years with the team. Despite a difficult final season with the team, in which he finished only 12th in the championship, Winterbottom left the team with a record of 412 race starts, 38 wins, 35 poles and 117 podiums.

Team 18

Winterbottom announced ahead of the 2018 Newcastle 500 that he would be moving to

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

, the first time he will have driven a

Holden Holden, formerly known as General Motors-Holden, was an Australian subsidiary company of General Motors. Founded in Adelaide, it was an automobile manufacturer, importer, and exporter that sold cars under its own marque in Australia. It was ...

in his career.

Stock Car Brasil

In 2014 and 2015, Winterbottom appeared in the season-opening two-driver round of the

Stock Car Brasil The BRB Stock Car Pro Series, formerly known as Stock Car Brasil, is a touring car racing, touring car auto racing series based in Brazil organized by Vicar. It is considered the major Brazilian and South American motorsports series. Starting in ...

championship, for Voxx Racing. In 2014, he drove alongside

Sérgio Jimenez Sérgio Jimenez (born May 15, 1984, in Piedade, São Paulo State) is a Brazilian racing driver currently competing with Scuderia Chiarelli in the Stock Car Pro Series. He is the 2002 Formula Renault 2.0 Brazil champion, and the 2018-19 Jaguar ...

to fourth at the

Autódromo José Carlos Pace The Autódromo José Carlos Pace, better known as Autódromo de Interlagos or simply Interlagos, is a motorsport race track, circuit located in the city of São Paulo, Brazil. It was inaugurated on 12 May 1940, by the federal intervener of the S ...

whilst in 2015 he finished second with

Marcos Gomes Marcos Giffoni de Melo Gomes (born July 26, 1984) is a Brazilian professional racing driver currently set to compete in the Stock Car Brasil series for Cavaleiro Sports, where he won the 2015 championship. Marcos is the son of four-time Stock C ...

at the Autódromo Internacional Ayrton Senna. Just like Winterbottom, Gomes went on to win his respective championship title in 2015. Winterbottom returned to Brazil in 2018, finishing eleventh at the Autódromo José Carlos Pace driving with

Átila Abreu Átila Roberto de Abreu (born 10 May 1987 in Sorocaba) is a Brazilian racing driver currently competing for Pole Motorsport in the Stock Car Pro Series. Career Formula BMW Despite beginning his karting career in 1996, 2003 Formula BMW ADAC se ...

, despite starting from the rear of the grid. At the conclusion of his Tickford Racing stint, Winterbottom had received an offer to contest the championship full-time in

. Having described the opportunity as "appealing", he declined on the grounds that it wasn't a binding contract.

Personal life

Winterbottom is the son of the 1969 and 1974 Australian Sprintcar Champion and former chairman of the Sprintcar Control Council of Australia, Jim Winterbottom. Educated at Doonside Technology High School, Winterbottom took up the sport of soccer from the age of six, and by eleven was competing with a state level team, (

Blacktown Blacktown is a suburb in New South Wales, Australia, west of the Sydney central business district. It is one of the most multicultural places within Sydney, Greater Sydney. History Before the arrival of the First Fleet in 1788, the area of ...

United) in matches across New South Wales. He made the decision to give up soccer to pursue his motor racing ambitions at the age of eleven. Winterbottom was used as the voice of the character 'Frosty' in the Australian Release of the 2011

film

. He also appeared as a contestant on

Season 3 A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and pol ...

of the

Seven Network Seven Network (stylised 7Network, and commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is an Australian commercial free-to-air Television broadcasting in Australia, television network. It is owned by Seven West Media, Seven West Media Limited, ...

's celebrity series ''

Australia's Greatest Athlete ''Australia's Greatest Athlete'' is an Australian television program that debuted in 2009. The first season was broadcast on the Nine Network and was hosted by Andrew Voss and Michael Slater, with Ricky Ponting as a sideline commentator. The sec ...

'' in 2011.

Career results

Karting career summary

Circuit racing career

Supercars Championship results

Complete Bathurst 1000 results

Complete Bathurst 12 Hour results

Complete Stock Car Brasil results

References

External links

Personal websiteFord Performance Racing website
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Winterbottom, Mark 1981 births Formula Ford drivers Living people Racing drivers from Sydney Sportsmen from New South Wales Supercars Championship drivers Bathurst 1000 winners Stock Car Brasil drivers BMW M drivers Stone Brothers Racing drivers Racing drivers from New South Wales 21st-century Australian sportsmen