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SPECIAL

Ford Territory

SPECIAL

Ford Territory

Ambrose Dominates at Oran Park

Staff, Monday August 18, 2003.

Page 1 of 1

Adding to the Ford celebration was second place to Craig Lowndes (CAT Ford Performance Racing).

Ambrose now sits 72 points ahead of Jason Bright in the championship, with Greg Murphy in third.

The victory is Ford?s seventh straight of the year (first time since 1993). It was Stone Brothers Racing sixth straight win, equalling the team mark of that same year set by Glenn Seton and Alan Jones (Peter Jackson Racing).

With five rounds remaining in the year, Holden can?t beat Ford for overall wins this season. This is the first time since 1995 that Ford will score more wins in a season than its rival.

Ambrose completely dominated the 111-lap race, jumping to the lead from pole position, the Tasmanian was forced to work in the opening corners after Paul Morris barged his way alongside.

From that point he built a handy 20+ plus second lead before making a 7.3 second tyre stop on lap #33. The 26 year old made his fuel stop on lap 53, and following the reshuffle of all drivers he once again found himself in front by well over 20 seconds.

Set to maintain the gap to the finish, Ambrose was then forced to earn victory as a safety car was called onto the track with 14-laps remaining to remove debris from the track after John Bowe (OzEmail Racing) lost his rear bumper.

With lapped traffic between him and Lowndes, Ambrose could even afford to let two cars past, including championship rival Jason Bright who finished 19th.

?We put in plenty of preparation for this race and the result is a great weekend for the team,? said Ambrose.

?The bash and barge at the start was not necessary in a 300 kilometre race and I was very close to spinning when Morris got alongside.

?From that point it was about building a nice rhythm and we quickly started to gap the opposition.

?I never relaxed as only 100% driving was going to not only build a gap, but also put lapped cars in between me and the opposition.

?We nearly got to the end without a safety car, but that really didn?t concern me as the guys in the pits told me that there was eight cars between myself and Craig at the restart.?

?Our car?s balance once again was fantastic throughout. I wouldn?t say the tyres were great at the end, but considering the pace and the amount of laps we ran they were not too bad.

?From a championship point of view we are now away ? finally! Jason Bright had a bad day and now with the endurance races at Sandown and Bathurst coming up I can?t wait!

?It?s been a big weekend for our Stone Brothers Racing team. We announced that Russell Ingall and I would be driving together at the endurance races and a five-year deal with Ford yesterday. It?s great for everyone concerned and especially for Ross and Jimmy Stone who have given it all to get to this point.?

For the first time since the championship was last in Sydney (Eastern Creek) in May, Craig Lowndes scored second place.

A determined drive and good pit strategy saw him leap into second place from running fifth early on. Lowndes didn?t pit until lap 72 for fuel, allowing him to run fast through the middle sector of the race and put in less fuel at the end.

?We made the top-10 shootout yesterday, but after a pretty poor lap I had to start ninth,? said Lowndes.

?That meant we had to take a little bit of gamble with the strategy, but it paid off. Everyone was stopping and opening up the track for us. I only really had some traffic problems late in the race when I bent the steering after barging my way past John Bowe.

?Our team still has some work ahead of them, but days like this are a good reward for all our boys who have been giving it all to get us towards the front.?

The V8 Supercar Championship Series now heads to the long distance endurance events at the Betta Electrical Sandown 500 (September 14) and the Bob Jane T-Marts 1000 at Bathurst (October 12).

These races will include co-drivers, adding the extra element of teamwork.

Results for Oran Park

1. Marcos Ambrose ? Pirtek Racing ? Ford Falcon BA
2. Craig Lowndes ? CAT Ford Performance Racing ? Ford Falcon
3. Mark Skaife ? Holden Race Team ? Holden Commodore
4. Garth Tander ? Valvoline Racing ? Holden Commodore
5. Jason Richards ? Team Dynamik ? Holden Commodore
6. Todd Kelly ? Holden Race Team ? Holden Commodore
7. John Bowe ? OzEmail Racing ? Ford Falcon BA
8. Russell Ingall ? Caltex Havoline Racing ? Ford Falcon BA
9. Cameron McConville ? Lansvale Smash Repairs ? Holden Commodore
10. Dean Canto ? Team Betta Electrical ? Ford Falcon BA

Championship Standings after 8 of 13 rounds

1. Marcos Ambrose ? Pirtek Racing ? Ford Falcon BA 1351pts
2. Jason Bright ? Team Brock ? Holden Commodore 1279pts
3. Greg Murphy ? KMart Racing ? Holden Commodore 1233pts
4. Russell Ingall ? Caltex Havoline Racing ? Ford Falcon BA 1163pts
5. Mark Skaife ? Holden Race Team ? Holden Commodore 1145pts
6. Paul Weel ? Team Brock ? Holden Commodore 1109pts
7. Craig Lowndes ? CAT Ford Performance Racing ? Ford Falcon BA 1094pts
8. Steven Richards ? Castrol Perkins Racing ? Holden Commodore 1052pts
9. Garth Tander ? Valvoline Racing ? Holden Commodore 1002pts
10. Rick Kelly ? KMart Racing ? Holden Commodore 952pts

For Further information contact:
Ben Beazley
Media Manager
Ford Racing
Phone: 03-9359 8190
Mobile: 0417-262 753
Email: benb@global-marketing.com

Further information and high-resolution images relating to Ford Racing Australia can also be found at: media.ford.com

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