Mark Winterbottom

The incredible true story of the boy from Doonside who became a Bathurst king.

 
Mark Winterbottom's story is unlike any other in motorsport. It's not about privilege or million-dollar sponsors - it's the tale of a working-class kid with a dream so big it defied the odds. Mark's family couldn't afford to buy him the motorcycle he needed to kick-start his career, so they purchased a raffle ticket instead. The chances of winning that shiny, new PeeWee 50 were as slim as a boy from Doonside, near Blacktown, one day winning the Bathurst 1000. He would win both.

Having won a bike to secure his start, Mark and his family poured everything into his unlikely motorsport dream. But it was more than just luck that would define Mark's career, which included stints at Ford Performance Racing (Tickford Racing) and Team 18. Frosty's story is a motorsport fairy tale that is also proof that with heart, hustle and an unyielding will to succeed, you can achieve greatness.

Mark went on to win 10 Australian national kart titles and 25 state championships before transitioning into Formula Ford in 2001. His meteoric rise continued in 2003 when he clinched the Konica V8 Supercar Series Championship and was honoured with the Mike Kable Young Gun Award. Mark would also become one of Ford's most famous drivers when he broke through to beat Craig Lowndes and Jamie Whincup by winning the 2015 Supercars Championship in his flying Falcon. Frosty is more than a story of fast cars, chequered flags and brushes with some of motorsport's greats, including Lewis Hamilton and Peter Brock. It's about resilience, family and overcoming life's biggest challenges. In this inspiring memoir, Mark shares the raw truth of his hardest battles: the irreparable fallout with his father, supporting his mother through cancer, and pushing forward when most would have given up. 

From the streets of western Sydney to the summit of Mount Panorama, Mark Winterbottom's story is a powerful reminder that impossible dreams can be chased - and won.