Coates Hire ambassador John Bowe comes to Winton this weekend in excellent form, after taking victory in the opening round of the Touring Car Masters at the Clipsal 500.

On his way to winning round one, Bowe topped the timesheets in both practices setting a new lap record.

He went one better in qualifying, setting another new lap record and creating history, being the first TCM driver to lap the 3.2 kilometre circuit under 1min 30s, stopping the clocks at 1min 29.4sec.

Bowe's two second places and a third guaranteed him the round win and he leads the championship from Andrew Miedecke, Eddie Abelnica, Jim Richards and Mark King.

Bowe's 'home' track has been a happy hunting ground and the last time the Touring Car Masters raced at Winton in 2010, he won the round after qualifying on pole and winning both races.

John Bowe: “We did a shakedown at Winton prior to Clipsal and I was very happy with the car. Steve Makarios from Synergy Race Engines has built me a new engine and the car performed well.

“The competition in the TCM is stronger than ever, we had some great races in Adelaide and I’m looking forward to more of the same at Winton this weekend