Ford V8 team punished for pitlane incident

V8 Supercars have penalised Prodrive Racing Australia for the unsafe pit release which scuppered championship leader Mark Winterbottom's Saturday race on the Gold Coast.

Winterbottom had only just jumped behind the wheel of his Falcon in the 300km race on the streets of Surfers Paradise when he ploughed into the Holden of Garth Tander.

The Ford driver was given a drive-through penalty for the unsafe release and spent several laps in the garage having his car repaired.

He eventually limped home in 23rd position to have his 399-point championship lead cut to 306 points after rival Craig Lowndes finished third.

On Sunday, V8 Supercars announced Winterbottom's team had been penalised 50 teams championship points for the incident.

The penalty is unlikely to deny Prodrive this year's teams championship with the margin to Holden Racing Team still 580 points after the penalty is applied.