Though he currently drives the No. 18 Chevy Camaro in the Australian Supercars Championship, veteran Mark Winterbottom had a career defined by his Ford Falcon race cars. Between 2006 and 2016, Winterbottom pulled off a whopping 38 victories for The Blue Oval. Winterbottom recently announced that he’ll step down from fulltime competition at the end of the 2024 season, and Ford Australia sent the Supercars champion off with a heartfelt note.
According to a report from Supercars.com, Winterbottom has quite a history with Ford Performance Racing. He started off in the Ford Kart Stars Program where he cut his teeth in the motorsports world before progressing to Formula Ford. He graduated to Super2, the Supercars feeder division, in 2003, where he drove a Falcon race car for Stone Brothers Racing. Winterbottom continued to drive Ford Falcon race cars through the 2018 racing season before he defected to General Motors-backed Team 18 in 2019.
Winterbottom broke the news of his retirement on social media, drawing hundreds of comments from fans, fellow racers, and even Ford Australia.
“Congratulations on a stellar full-time career Mark,” Ford Australia commented. “We are proud to have shared many great moments together. We wish you the best for what lies ahead.”
Winterbottom replied to Ford, stating, “Thank you very much, that means a lot, my best achievements were undoubtedly in a Ford, memories I will treasure forever.”
As of this writing, Winterbottom has not confirmed plans for 2025 and beyond, but indicated that he may return in some capacity as a codriver in enduro events. He left the door open for a potential reunion with Ford in the future, saying, cryptically, that “sometimes fairytales get written.”
“It’s been so emotional to let go of it, so we’re trying to enjoy the moment, have fun with the last couple of rounds, and then work out what we’re doing next year,” Winterbottom said. “I’ll codrive for sure, I’ll be on the grid at the two big ones. I’ll try and be in a team that I can win with and go to Bathurst and try and have a good crack at it.”
Anton De Pasquale will drive the No. 18 Camaro in 2025 in Winterbottom’s stead.
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