Orrcon Steel Racing, FPR and Winterbottom ready for 2012

ORRCON STEEL UNVEILS 2012 LIVERY AS FROSTY EXTENDS CONTRACT TO 2014

Mark Winterbottom

Photo by: Chris Von Wieldt

Orrcon Steel Racing has unveiled it's striking new livery to challenge this year’s International V8 Supercar Championship alongside the announcement that star driver Mark Winterbottom has extended his contract with Ford Performance Racing (FPR) until the end of the 2014 season.

The #5 Orrcon Steel FPR Falcon was revealed in spectacular fashion at the Medibank Icehouse in Melbourne with Frosty being joined by Olympic gold medallist, Steven Bradbury for the official launch, which saw the car become the first V8 Supercar to ever drive on ice.

The fresh new 3D design of the Orrcon Steel FPR Falcon in all blue sees the return of the Falcon head to the rear of the car, with some of the best results coming from this design, namely 2008 when Frosty finished second in the Championship.

For the past ten years of Orrcon Steel FPR Falcon liveries this is the most aggressive yet and with ten years under the belt the scene is set for the year of Orrcon Steel in the race for the V8 Supercars Championship.

The event was a pure spectacle on ice inside a venue built using Orrcon Steel by long-time associates AMS Fabrications just three years ago and in record time with the structural steel fabricators finishing the mammoth job in just nine months.

The Orrcon Steel driver was the pacesetter by the end of the 2011 season and despite breaking his leg in a water-skiing accident late last year, Frosty will be fit for the Championship’s opening round, the Clipsal 500, in early March.

"We enter the 2012 Championship with a stable technical package, a motivated and very fit crew and the knowledge that we now have a very fast car on all types of circuits," Winterbottom said.

"As a team we know that we have to score more points than last year and win more races than last year and we have worked very hard in the off-season to ensure we have the tools to do just that."

Winterbottom has finished in the top-five in the Championship every year since joining the factory Ford squad. The announcement of his contract extension ensures the team will have the same driver line-up heading into the Car of the Future era from next season with Orrcon Steel-backed team mate, Will Davison already signed until the end of 2013.

"It is really great to extend my stay at FPR as everyone strives to drive for the factory team so I am proud to have such a long association with the factory Ford squad," Winterbottom added.

"I’m a very loyal person and over the next three years I would like nothing more than to pay back the team for how hard we've all worked together with a Championship, or three."

FPR and Orrcon Steel Racing Team Principal, Tim Edwards, attended the launch and believes the key to success heading into the new season is consistency.

"We have a simple goal for 2012, to score more points and more wins, more often," Edwards said.

"We achieved that by the end of last year, but this is a new season and we need to maintain a high level of performance across all events. When we give Mark the car he needs, he has proven that he is a race winner, so we just need to ensure we give him that week in, week out."

Winterbottom will take to the wheel of the #5 Orrcon Steel FPR Falcon at the season launch of the 2012 International V8 Supercar Championship at Sandown Raceway, February 11, 2012

The event is FREE to the public and doubles as a compulsory test day for all 28 V8 Supercars, meaning plenty of V8 action for fans attending the day.