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Its Official: Ford quits V8 Supercars!

4K views 16 replies 15 participants last post by  chinamonty 
#1 ·
Ford quits V8 Supercars

David McCowen
1 December 2014
www.drive.com.au

Ford has turned its back on Australian motorsport, cutting ties with a team that brought it back-to-back Bathurst victories.

The manufacturer announced on Monday that it would no longer support the Ford Performance Racing V8 Supercars team beyond the 2015 season, a result of its transformation from local manufacturer to an importer of foreign products.

Ford spokesman Wes Sherwood says investing in overseas-sourced cars "made it difficult to renew our V8 Supercars team sponsorship".

"We know this is going to create some emotion," he says.

"We think V8 Supercars is a very credible series, but what we have to do is look at our expanding range of vehicles and bring in a much more diverse line up for customers. We're not just looking at one solution."

Ford Performance Racing chief executive Tim Edwards says Ford's decision not to continue support was "extremely disappointing for our large and loyal fan base".

"We have enjoyed a highly-successful relationship with Ford Australia with just shy of 50 race wins, 150 podiums and the last two Bathurst 1000 crowns together," Edwards says.

"Now that we know where we stand we can further develop other opportunities. We have a range of options, some existing and some that were awaiting this decision, so we can now begin to explore these further."

The sport's chief executive, James Warburton, told V8supercars.com.au he is disappointed with the decision.

"We understand things are tough at Ford at the moment, but were hopeful they would continue to see the enormous brand value our sport has to them, not to mention decades of Blue Oval racing heritage – particularly at a time when we are growing so strongly," he says.

"We look forward to welcoming Ford back to our sport at some time in the future."

V8 Supercars will soon reveal a new set of rules that could entice support from a broader range of manufacturers by allowing teams to field cars with a variety of engine and body layouts that goes beyond the current variety of V8-powered four-door sedans.

Continue here

Read the full statement by Ford Australia here


 
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#7 ·
Really sorry to see Ford leave the series. I am a Holden fan but always liked the competitiveness displayed by the blue oval teams. I also am quite sure the decision to include Nissan, Volvo and Mercedes In Supercars hastened Ford's decision. Will Ford now do the same thing with NASCAR?
 
#9 ·
why they cant make the mustang platform a 4 door, i just do not understand. guess they are afraid it may take away mustang sales. but it would also increase sales to return the investment of the only RWD platform they have
 
#12 ·
2 litre Turbo is my guess. TurboSupercars?
 
#13 ·
This has been a big rumour going around for months which got stronger after wouldn't make an announcement about staying in the sport even after winning Bathurst.
Ford say they going to spend the money on quote “We are electing to invest our funds to continue expanding and refreshing our product lineup while delivering a leading consumer experience.” After hearing some of the stories I've heard in the last couple of weeks from their customers they will need to spend a lot more.
Warburton is full of crap when he says the enormous brand value the V8's offer, they just signed a deal with foxtel which means only 6 races will be shown on free to air TV.
Foxtel has a about a 30% market share compared to the possible 100% share FTA tv offers so I dont see how a reduced audience is offering brand value.
I personally know somebody that was ready to spend big bucks on sponsoring a V8 team next year until the TV deal came out and when saw the reduced FTA coverage he decided to out his money into another sport.
Remember this is not the first time that Ford has pulled out of racing in this country so there's chance they will be back.
The Japan GT series and the DTM are changing to V6 engines next year which gives them a chance to race their cars internationally (at least thats what they said).
Nissan has only renewed their contract until the end of 2016 so there's a chance they could walk away as well and right now Nissans International motorsport boss in not happy with the V8's scheduling their test day the same weekend as the Bathurst 12hr race and basically banning any V8 driver from racing in it, Nissan was ready to run 2 GTR's at Bathurst with Rick Kelly driving one and now they have had to scale back to one car.
New rules are coming which may allow 2 door cars, Volvo have also openly said they would like it if the series went to turbo 4cyl engines, lots of fans are seeing the series as a dying series and are betting in a few years time it will be in the toilet. Look at the size of the grids in a V8 race compared to other forms of racing the Bathurst 12hr is going to have more cars in class then the V8's do in a race.
 
#14 ·
I am really glad I flew out to Austin TX to catch the only V8 Supercar race that was here.

I know the cars are tube chassis and composite bodies - but at least they look like a production car.

Not a metal bloated cup car here with some different stickers on it for headlights.

Guess I'll have to start watching/attending more Tudor races here.
 
#16 ·
New rules released today will allow any body style and any engine 4cyl, V6, V8 as long as the car its based on is a 4 seater, right hand drive and available in for sale in Australia.
 
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