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SPECIAL

Ford Territory

SPECIAL

Ford Territory

Falcon Fantastic at Sydney's Eastern Creek

Staff, Monday May 5, 2003.

Page 1 of 1

Ambrose finished ahead of Ford Performance Racing?s Craig Lowndes with Stone Brothers Racing team-mate Russell Ingall (Caltex Havoline Racing) third.

It was Ford?s first clean-sweep of the podium since Eastern Creek 1997 (Glenn Seton, John Bowe and Dick Johnson). That was also the last time the Blue Oval took overall honours at the Sydney circuit.

The victory was Ford?s first back-to-back win since 2001, when Ambrose won in Darwin, Shell Helix Racing?s Steven Johnson took victory in Canberra and his team-mate Paul Radisich took the round in Perth.

The result was Ford?s second round win from three events, and has already equalled last year?s total of round wins for the Blue Oval.

Ambrose made the most of his pole position to streak away from the field from the first turn. From that point on he controlled the race through the 77-lap journey.

Even when a safety car was called onto the circuit at lap #49 while he was 21 seconds ahead, Ambrose remained unfazed.

With lapped cars in between at the re-start, the Tasmanian once again streaked away to score his first win of the season and third of his career.

?For me the best thing is to have an all-Falcon podium ? awesome,? said Ambrose.

?The car was a rocket, the team was perfect and when you have those two key elements your confidence is sky high.

?I knew that a good start was key and from there we controlled the race. It?s such a good feeling to be in that position.

?The BA is getting better and better, and I can?t fault my team, they just want success after success and I?m keen to keep this thing rolling along.

?Our opening two rounds weren?t great for our championship challenge, but now we are back on track and with another ten events to go, it?s going to be a great run to the title.?

Following his round win at Phillip Island, Craig Lowndes was delighted to back it up with second place.

Lowndes was in a strong position early in the race, running second to Ambrose after battling his way past Greg Murphy. Then after the round of pit stops he had to challenge Jason Bright in the run to the flag. The Ford Performance Racing star getting past on lap #75 of #77.

Rounding out the treble, Ingall battled his way from ninth on the grid to pass Greg Murphy and then Bright on the final lap.

?We won at Phillip Island through strategy and our position today was also thanks to good team work,? said Lowndes.

?Most teams put on fuel first before taking tyres, while we went the other way round. This was to give us a fast car on the lighter fuel in the middle stages so that we could stretch the opposition.

?Even after putting the fuel back into the car, the tyres were still pretty good and that was important in the closing stages.

?We really worked on having a strong race package throughout this weekend, and to qualify so far up I knew we had a chance today.

?Even when Bright got ahead of us in the pit stops I knew that we could challenge, the only car I thought we couldn?t was Marcos.

?We?ve gone to fifth in the championship, which has been my best start since joining Ford. Along with the team, I?m pumped and I hope we have more battles throughout the rest of the year with Marcos, Russell and all the Ford teams.?

Following a disappointing run in the top-10 shootout yesterday, Ingall set about a charge in today?s race.

The sights of the Caltex Havoline Racing Falcon passing Murphy and then Bright in the final laps had the packed main grandstand at Eastern Creek on their feet.

?I knew that once I got passed Murphy I could catch the battle between Craig and Bright,? said Ingall.

?I kept my patience, and once Craig made the move into second I knew I could follow.

?The emotions at the end from our team and all the Ford fans was amazing, I hope we can have plenty of that.

?We?re all delighted for Ford, but this result does make the opposition even more hungry. But we?re up to the challenge and I?m keen to get my name on a winners trophy pretty quickly.?

Ford will chase three straight wins at Victoria?s Winton Raceway on May 25.

Top-10 Results ? Eastern Creek

1. Marcos Ambrose - Pirtek Racing - Ford Falcon BA
2. Craig Lowndes - Ford Performance Racing - Ford Falcon BA
3. Russell Ingall ? Caltex Havoline Racing ? Ford Falcon BA
4. Jason Bright - Team Brock - Holden Commodore
5. Greg Murphy - KMart Racing - Holden Commodore
6. Garth Tander - Valvoline Racing - Holden Commodore
7. Simon Wills ? Team Dynamic ? Holden Commodore
8. Steven Richards ? Castrol Perkins Racing ? Holden Commodore
9. Rick Kelly - KMart Racing - Holden Commodore
10. Paul Morris ? Siromet Racing ? Holden Commodore

Top-10 Championship ? After 3 of 13 rounds

1. Jason Bright - Team Brock - Holden Commodore 531pts
2. Steven Richards ? Castrol Perkins Racing ? Holden Commodore 486pts
3. Greg Murphy - KMart Racing - Holden Commodore 483pts
4. Russell Ingall ? Caltex Havoline Racing ? Ford Falcon BA 459pts
5. Craig Lowndes - Ford Performance Racing - Ford Falcon BA 345pts
6. Garth Tander - Valvoline Racing - Holden Commodore 450pts
7. Mark Skaife - Holden Race Team - Holden Commodore 435pts
8. Jason Bright - Team Brock - Holden Commodore 429pts
9. Marcos Ambrose - Pirtek Racing - Ford Falcon BA 405pts
10. Paul Radisich ? Team Betta Electrical ? Ford Falcon BA 384pts

For further information contact:
Ben Beazley
Media Coordinator
Ford Racing
Phone: (03) 9596 9011
Mobile: 0417-262 753
Email: benb@global-marketing.com

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