The incredible true story of the boy from Blacktown 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 Pee Wee 50 were as slim as a boy from Blacktown one day winning the Bathurst 1000. He would win both. Mark would also become Ford's most famous driver when he broke through to beat Craig Lowndes and Jamie Whincup by winning the 2015 Supercars championship in his flying Falcon.
He might have won the bike that secured his start, but there was nothing lucky about Winterbottom's career, including stints at Ford Performance Racing (Tickford Racing) and Team 18. His stunning success can be put down to grit and relentless determination. Mark and his family poured everything into his unlikely dream, even spending the $250 they'd saved to buy a family couch on kart tyres. While other kart drivers raced with high-end equipment, Mark made the most of what little he had. His kart might not have been the best, but he certainly was.
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.
Frosty isn't just a story about fast cars, chequered flags and brushes with some of motorsport's greats, including Lewis Hamilton, Peter Brock and Dick Johnson. It's about resilience, family and overcoming life's biggest challenges. 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.
Written with bestselling author and biographer James Phelps - who as a sports reporter became close friends with Mark while covering his remarkable career - this is more than a motorsport memoir. It's proof that with heart, hustle and an unyielding will to succeed, you can rise above your circumstances and achieve greatness. 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.
