Ford‘s decision to pull its support for its V8 Supercars teams from 2016 highlights its uncommitted nature, which has been the hallmark of its Australian touring-car history.
The Blue Oval may rival Holden in terms of accolades and fan-base, but not commitment. It has regularly come and gone in the series and has gradually declined its support since 2008, when it amazingly pulled its funding from powerhouse team Triple Eight and Ford hero Dick Johnson.
Ford Australia will retire the Falcon and close its Australian manufacturing plant in 2016, so the decision to stop funding V8 Supercars appears on the surface like a common-sense move.
But in doing so, Ford has pulled the rug out from under the activation that helped build its storied history in Australia and helped differentiate it from other manufacturers. At a time when the Australian automotive market is so crowded, V8 Supercars is an avenue to keep a link to its racing heritage.
At present, Ford supports just one team – Ford Performance Racing, soon to be renamed Prodrive Racing Australia. The team has delivered back-to-back Bathurst wins and championship challengers, despite dwindling support from the manufacturer.
For a small outlay in the greater scheme of things, Ford could have retained a presence and maintained some brand loyalty.
The new regulations from 2017 will allow Ford to campaign the Falcon’s replacement, the imported two-door coupe Mustang, which will feature a five-litre V8 powerplant.
The Mustang has a rich pedigree in Australian touring cars, winning five consecutive championships in the 1960s. What better way to sell its new performance car than in the premier Australian motorsport category?
The timing of Ford’s withdrawal highlights its lack of motorsport knowledge and the ability of its racing program to connect with its diehard Blue Oval fan-base.
It’s walking away from a strong four-car team that features four race winners, including Bathurst champions Mark Winterbottom and Chaz Mostert, the latter a 22-year-old rising star.
Also, Ford is pulling its support in a year when North American racing giant Team Penske, which runs Ford’s most successful NASCAR program, teams with Blue Oval regulars Dick Johnson Racing to field Ford fan favourite Marcos Ambrose.
The Penske-Ambrose-Johnson trio is a Ford dream team, which has fallen in the lap of the manufacturer at such an opportune time to market the new and final Falcon, the FG X.
And yet Ambrose will return to V8 Supercars without Ford support. Other manufacturers could only dream of such an opportunity.
There will be six Ford Falcon FG Xs on the 2015 V8 Supercars grid and privateer entities could still campaign Fords into 2016 and beyond. Johnson ran Fords with little factory backing for years, becoming a Blue Oval legend in the process.
But Dick Johnson Racing Team Penske and Prodrive Racing Australia have no commitment to Ford and will shop around for new manufacturers, with the likes of Lexus reportedly tempted by V8 Supercars.
And should they switch brands, Blue Oval fans will only have Ford Australia to blame.
Red Bull and Max Verstappen vaulted right back to the top of the charts with a win in Suzuka, after his DNF in Melbourne.
Japan Grand Prix has been the most entertaining of the season to date, but Max Verstappen was back to his winning ways.
This season is only four races old, but Fernando Alonso needs to decide on his future beyond this year sooner rather than later. Formula…
It’s a pretty good time to be a Tasmanian sports fan right now. After years in the sporting wilderness with not much to celebrate,…
The question remains where the Australian Grand Prix winner will be in 2025 and whether it’ll be somewhere his value can truly be appreciated.
The author of a new book on Aussie F1 prodigy Oscar Piastri believes the Melbourne driver has what it takes to become Australia’s first…
