“Frosty” Winterbottom through the years
Mark Winterbottom has been a big part of the Supercars grid for 21 years and as the finish approaches, reflect on the cars and highs through his career.
After losing his Team 18 seat to Anton De Pasquale for 2025, Winterbottom has called time on his full-time career, which has been one of the most successful of the 21st century.
By the time the chequered flag waves at Adelaide, only Craig Lowndes would have started more Supercars races than Winterbottom.
2003: 44th, 2 races, PB 11th
Mark Winterbottom leads SBR teammate Marcos Ambrose at the 2003 Bathurst 1000 in “frosty’s” maiden Great Race. Image: Motorsport Images
A fresh-faced “Frosty” arrived on the scene at Stone Brothers Racing as a co-driver in the #9 BA Falcon with Mark Noske.
The pair survived a wild Sandown 500 to cross the line an impressive 11th.
In his first Great Race, Winterbottom qualified 11th in the 40-car field, missing the Shootout by four tenths, but engine dramas ended their run after 102 laps.
However, the big achievement was in Super2 as Winterbottom cemented himself as a star on the rise by dominating the 2003 Konica V8 Supercar Series with SBR.
Driving a #41 AU Falcon, “Frosty” won eight of the 16 races and received the Mike Kable Young Gun Award.
2004: 18th, PB 5th
Mark Winterbottom at Symmons Plains Raceway in 2004. Image:Mark Horsburgh/LAT Photographic
Winterbottom received his elevation to the full-time grid with Larkham Motorsport in 2004.
He survived his first race in 15th, but got caught up in the infamous big one at Turn 8.
Recorded his first top five in qualifying and top 10 at Hidden Valley before scoring an impressive fifth place with Jason Bargwanna in the Great Race.
2005: 29th PB 14th
Mark Winterbottom looks through the hole made in the floor of his Ford after running over a grill that had lifted at Shanghai in 2005. Image: Motorsport Images
Winterbottom’s sophomore season proved to be one of the toughest of his career.
He did not record a single top 10 across the year with a best result of 14th in the Adelaide opener.
The lowlight was an infamous, but freighting incident at Shanghai where a loose drain cover tore apart the chassis and coming alarmingly close to Winterbottom himself with the driver’s seat even damaged.
2006: 3rd PB 1st (x2)
Mark Winterbottom holds off Craig Lowndes at Hidden Valley in an outstanding FPR debut in 2006. Image: LAT
With the likes of Glenn Seton, Craig Lowndes and Greg Ritter leaving, Ford Performance Racing was looking for a new star and found one in Winterbottom.
Winterbottom jumped into the #5 Falcon and made it his own, announcing himself with an outstanding run in his second round at Pukekohe where he claimed his first two podiums.
Further third places at Wanneroo and Hidden Valley cemented third in the standings for Winterbottom and he only got better from there.
Boosted by a thrilling breakthrough win with Jason Bright in the Sandown 500, Winterbottom finished the year on a high, taking seven podiums eight races before winning the Phillip Island finale, completed by a maiden solo win.
2007: 5th PB 1st (x2)
Mark Winterbottom in the “Cobra” racing stripes livery leads Craig Lowndes, Garth Tander and Mark Skaife in the 2007 Tasmania Challenge.
Winterbottom was fast in 2007, taking a season high five poles including both shootouts at Sandown and Bathurst.
Whilst results did not go his way with only one podium across the first 21 races, he hit his straps in the run home.
Driving the white “Cobra” Falcon he dominated the trip to Bahrain as he did not drop from the top 10 in the last 10 races to secure fifth in the standings.
Bathurst was the one that got away as he surfed the Chase gravel whilst leading late in the day.
2008: 2nd PB 1st (x7)
Mark Winterbottom was in a league of his own at Perth in 2008, leading Garth Tander. Image: LAT
Winterbottom was ready to be a championship contender in 2008 and had the pace to prove it early on.
A clean sweep of Perth, backed up by further wins at Eastern Creek, Ipswich and Hidden Valley pushed “Frosty” into the commanding position of leading the championship by 110 points after 20 of the 37 races.
However, no further wins and only five podiums saw arch rival Jamie Whincup take the title.
2009: 5th PB 1st (x2)
Mark Winterbottom wins the 2009 Super GP at Gold Coast. Image: LAT
The 2009 season and the first with the FG Falcon did not start brilliantly for Winterbottom as he bounced in and out of the top 10.
But he was back to his best in the second half of the year, being a regular on the podium once again with two wins on the Gold Coast, but did endure the unforgettable barbecue at Bathurst.
2010: 3rd PB 1st (x3)
An all silver look for Mark Winterbottom was a winning one at Townsville in 2010. Image Mark Horsburgh /LAT Photographic
Winterbottom was the outsider in the iconic three-way title fight with Courtney and Whincup on the streets of Sydney in 2010 and a double retirement restricted him to third.
Started the year with four-straight podiums in the flyaway rounds and took wins at Hidden Valley, Townsville and Symmons Plains.
Across 13 races from Winton and Sandown, Winterbottom only missed the top 10 once.
2011: 3rd PB 1st (x2)
“Frosty” flies in Abu Dhabi. Image: Drew Gibson/LAT Photographic
The 2011 season proved to be a tough one initially for Winterbottom and FPR as Triple Eight and Holden dominated.
Only four podiums were scored across the first 20 races, but victory on the streets of Surfers marked a turning point.
“Frosty” was back to his best, not missing the top 10 across the last seven races and ended on a high with victory in Sydney.
2012: 3rd PB 1st (x3)
Mark Winterbottom keeps the Triple Eight Commodores at bay at Ipswich 2012.
The 2012 season initially appeared to be the one FPR would finally overcome Triple Eight.
Both Winterbottom and Will Davison started the season like a house on fire, winning nine of the first 11 races.
Winterbottom’s assault was fronted by thrilling wins at Hamilton and Wanneroo where he had to fend off mighty challenges by Whincup, while he was also successful at Phillip Island.
Despite an impressive 18 podiums, Winterbottom’s championship hopes faded as Triple Eight won 16 of the last 18 races.
2013: 4th PB 1st (x3)
Mark Winterbottom and Steven Richards of Ford Performance Racing winners of the 2013 Bathurst 1000.
Although Winterbottom could not quite recover from an up and down start to contend for the title, 2013 will always be one of his best ever for one good reason.
He and Steven Richards finally pushed FPR to the top of the mountain after winning a thrilling fight for the 2013 Bathurst 1000 against Whincup in a battle that went down to the bitter end.
That was his third win of the season having also fastest success at Hidden Valley and Winton.
2014: 3rd PB 1st (x4)
Mark Winterbottom on his way to glory in Winton 2014. Image: Peter Norton
The 2014 season was another that got away from Winterbottom, having started so strong.
The #5 was ultra consistent, hardly dropping out of the top 10 across the first 24 races.
Wins at Winton, Pukekohe and a thriller against SVG at Darwin saw Winterbottom leading the championship by a commanding 161 points at the halfway mark.
However, only two more podiums saw him fall to third by season’s end as Whincup overwhelmed everyone.
2015: 1st PB 1st (x9)
Mark Winterbottom celebrates his Supercars title at Sydney 2015. Image: Peter Norton
After a decade of trying, 2015 was finally Winterbottom’s moment.
The combination of the experience of Winterbottom and the new FG X Falcon proved close to unbeatable.
Despite one podium across the first six races, “Frosty” flew after back to back wins at Wanneroo and Winton.
A run of four victories in the Queensland doubleheader of Townsville and Ipswich propelled him into a huge 265-point advantage.
This time Winterbottom was not going to let the opportunity slip, winning the Sandown 500 and producing an impressive comeback drive to second at Bathurst before ending the year with six straight top 10s.
2016: 6th PB 1st (x2)
Mark Winterbottom with the #1 in 2016. Photo: LAT
With the #1 on the door and new colours, Winterbottom found himself in the new position of the hunted.
Eased into his work and looked to be a title contender with a stunning tyre-saving victory at Wanneroo pushing him back to the championship lead.
However, he battled to fight for victories for the rest of the year with only one more win arriving at Pukekohe seeing Winterbottom fall to sixth.
That NZ victory proved to be the last for another 197 races.
2017: 6th PB 2nd (x2)
Mark Winterbottom in the bright green #5 Falcon at SMP in 2017.
By 2017 Winterbottom and Prodrive were not quite the force they once were, having a first winless year together.
Highlights were second place finishes at Phillip Island and Pukekohe, plus another podium at Townsville, but the lowlight was a crash on the penultimate lap at Bathurst when fighting for fifth.
2018: 12th PB 2nd (x1)
Mark Winterbottom in his final race for Tickford at Newcastle in 2018. Image: Peter Norton
In what proved to be the last season of his successful union with Tickford, Winterbottom had his least productive year during the run.
“Frosty” only stood on the podium once which was a second place at Wanneroo.
By November it was official that Winterbottom was leaving the team after 12 years, 412 races and 38 wins.
2019: 13th PB 4th (x2)
Mark Winterbottom finished in P9 and P6 in his Team 18 Adelaide debut in 2019. Photo by Dirk Klynsmith / LAT Images
In 2019 fans had to get used to the unusual sight of Winterbottom driving a Holden as he spearheaded a new-look Team 18.
It started promisingly with a pair of top 10s in Adelaide and a pole position at Symmons Plains where he recorded a season PB of fourth, which was followed up at The Bend.
Also recorded his best Team 18 Bathurst result of sixth with old pal Richards.
2020: 10th PB 4th (x2)
Mark Winterbottom at Darwin in 2020. Photo by Dirk Klynsmith / LAT Images
Winterbottom took a step forward with a more consistent second season at Team 18 to break into the top 10 of the championship.
Was a regular member of the top 10 across the SMP and Darwin double headers with his pair of fourths both arriving at Hidden Valley.
2021: 10th PB 4th (x2)
Mark Winterbottom leads Jamie Whincup at Sandown 2021. Image: Motorsport Images
Winterbottom started 2021 strong with three straight top fives, but only reached the same heights once for the remainder of the year.
He still did enough to hold onto 10th in the championship as the lead Team 18 driver ahead of Pye.
2022: 9th PB 5th (x2)
Mark Winterbottom finished sixth at the 2022 Gold Coast 500. Image: Mark Horsburgh
Although 2022 did not get off to such a solid start, Winterbottom was again a consistent figure throughout the final year in the ZB Commodore.
The #18 went on runs of top 10 finishes at Symmons Plains/Albert Park, Winton/Hidden Valley and Sandown.
This saw him climb up the order to a Team 18 best championship finish of ninth.
2023: 15th PB 1st (x1)
Mark Winterbottom leading the way at Darwin 2023. Image: Mark Horsburgh
Whilst the year as a whole was not as consistent as the one before, 2023 will be the high point of WInterbottom’s time with Team 18.
A special drive at Hidden Valley saw “Frosty” end a seven-year drought between wins and give Team 18 an emotional maiden success.
It proved to be the only top five of the year as Winterbottom managed 15th in the standings, his lowest since 2005.
2024: 15th PB 2nd (x2)
Mark Winterbottom leaves a trail of flames at the recent Sydey SuperNight. Image: Mark Horsburgh
In what will be his 22nd and final as a full-time driver, Winterbottom has still shown flashes of his old self by collecting two runner-up finishes.
His second places at Albert Park and Hidden Valley have been the clear standouts.
Only two other top 10s see Winterbottom one place behind his returning teammate David Reynolds as the final two rounds approach.
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