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Australia

FPR Wants long future for Barbagallo

FANS NEED LONG-TERM SOLUTION Funding for Barbagallo Raceway has been welcomed by FPR drivers, Mark Winterbottom and Steve Richards, who both hope it is the start of bigger things to come. The West Australian circuit, which will host V8 Supercar ...

FANS NEED LONG-TERM SOLUTION

Funding for Barbagallo Raceway has been welcomed by FPR drivers, Mark Winterbottom and Steve Richards, who both hope it is the start of bigger things to come.

The West Australian circuit, which will host V8 Supercar Championship races 23 and 24 this weekend, has been granted $5 million from the WA state government for upgrades.

They include widening, resurfacing and lighting as well as improved safety fencing and upgraded communication equipment, but facilities for teams and fans remain largely unchanged.

Frosty, the reigning Barbagallo champion, and Richo both rate the circuit as one of the most charismatic in the country and will be on track in the Castrol and Orrcon Steel FPR Falcons from 12:25 this Friday.

Steve Richards
Castrol FPR Falcon

"I really welcome this investment in WA's motorsport facilities but $5million is a short term fix; there still needs to be a lot more done to improve the event for fans. We need to be looking at the long term prospects of where V8s are going to be in WA.

"The resurfacing and widening will be good for the racing. One of the best races we ever had at Barbagallo was the year it had been resurfaced and you could race the whole length of the race. The car just got faster and faster; it was fantastic.

"My championship focus now is to try and get enough points in the next two meetings to get back into the top ten. After Bathurst we were sitting eleventh but Bathurst was such a big loss of points; we've got a steep climb.".

Mark Winterbottom
Orrcon Steel FPR Falcon

"It would be terrible to lose Barbagallo from the championship. It has a lot of character in the lay out; to me it's probably one of the best tracks in the country for differing of corners

"People think of it as an eight-corner track but the undulation and character that the circuit has makes it one of the more enjoyable tracks we go to. Turns five and six are possibly the coolest in the country and the last corner is the hardest braking corner in the championship. TV doesn't show how hard the track is.

"My Championship didn't go to plan this year but I don't need help motivating because I want to finish in the top five and keep my record from the last four years. I'm defending champion at Barbagallo so you go there trying to defend your crown from last year and I want to win Homebush. That's a huge incentive; to try and finish the year off and win my home race."

-credit: fpr

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Edition

Australia