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Ford Territory

SPECIAL

Ford Territory

Ford Mourns Passing of Howard Marsden

Staff, Wednesday August 20, 2003.

Page 1 of 1

Mr Marsden died at home surrounded by his immediate family and will be cremated in a private family service later this week.

Ford Australia President Mr Geoff Polites described Marsden as a great name in motor racing circles, and also emphasised his own deep respect for the man away from the track.

?Howard will be deeply missed by us all, especially his family who have been the major inspiration in his life,? said Mr Polites.

?Howard was a deeply private man which was evident in the fact that very few people knew of his battle over the past seven months.

?Many people around the world owe a great deal to Howard over the his 40 odd years in motor sport. We here in Australia were just one small part of his journey.

?Ford is currently enjoying its best season on the track in many seasons, all thanks to Howard?s commitment over the past four years.

?I know that all involved in motor sport, not just Ford, are deeply saddened by this loss. We?ve certainly lost one of the great champions of the sport?.

Before taking on the role as General Manager of Ford Racing in 1999, Marsden had worked for Tickford Vehicle Engineering (now FPV) since 1992 as Product Planning Manager.

FPV Managing Director David Flint described Marsden as a great friend.

?Howard was a true gentleman in business and a great friend,? said Mr Flint.

?He made a monumental contribution to our business and will be sorely missed by all of us who had the good fortune to know and work with him.?

Ford?s V8 Supercar teams have all today paid tribute to the father of Ford Racing in Australia. Two-time Bathurst winner and 1995 V8 Supercar Champion John Bowe spoke on behalf of the drivers.

?You look back to the early 1970s and it was Howard, Allan Moffat and the GTHO Falcons that were winning everything,? said Mr Bowe.

?Howard came in again in 1999 and he set about putting plans in place to see Ford return to the front.

?He was fully aware that it was not going to happen overnight and this year?s results with seven wins from eight races are due to the planning he put in place.

?I?ve been actively driving since the 1970s and Howard gave me and plenty of other drivers great advice as well as the opportunity to further our careers. He was one in a million.?

Howard?s wife Christine expressed her sincere thanks for the thousands of messages of support and well wishes received by the family since the news of his illness earlier this month.

Profile

Howard Marsden was one of the most experienced and successful motor racing identities in the western world.

He started his involvement with Ford Motor Company?s European racing programs in 1963, as the founder and company secretary of Alan Mann Racing. At the time Ford ? and Marsden ? were involved in rallying, touring car and sportscar championships in both Europe and the US.

On the sidelines, Marsden and the company prepared cars for the films Grand Prix and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, and also prepared a race team for American actor and renowned ?petrolhead?, Steve McQueen.

During his career, Marsden was involved with some of motorsport?s most famous names, managing Lola Racing Limited for John Surtees, and becoming company manager for Frank Williams Racing.

Marsden?s impact on Australian motorsport is just as strong. In 1971 he became Ford?s Special Vehicles Manager and managed the Ford Falcon touring car program for the period of the legendary Bathurst victories by Allan Moffat.

Under Marsden?s reign, the Falcon GTHO Phase III and Phase IV were introduced, both becoming Australian motoring icons.

Following Ford?s decision to step back from motor sport, Marsden accepted a position at Datsun / Nissan. He masterminded four Australian Rally Championship wins in 1976/77/78/79 with Ross Dunkerton, George Fury and Geoff Portman.

He also led the Datsun/Nissan Stanza entries in the Southern Cross and Castrol Rally of Canberra in 1979 with Dunkerton, Fury and Finnish great Rauno Aaltonen.

The 1980s had Marsden back into circuit racing when he directed Nissan's Australian Touring Car Championship program, scoring class victories at Bathurst and winning the long distance championship in 1983 with the Bluebird Turbo.

During this period Marsden was Product Planning Manager and Motorsport Manager for Nissan.

In 1985 Fred Gibson took ownership of the Nissan Motorsport Team while Marsden continued his role with Nissan both in Australia and then Europe through to 1992. Marsden was part of Nissan?s entry into Sportscar Racing, including Le Mans.

In 1992 he moved back to Australia and to Tickford Vehicle Engineering, to assist in the development of a range of performance Falcons for the enthusiast market.

With the revival of motor sport at the Ford Motor Company of Australia, Marsden was seconded to Ford from Tickford as the General Manager of Ford Racing.

Marsden instigated numerous programs as part of his involvement with Ford Racing in the new millennium. These included the first in-house designed and built Ford Touring Car since the early 1970s with the BA Falcon; greater funding for Formula Ford; the establishment of the Ford KartStars Series; and most importantly closer ties between teams and the Ford Motor Company.

It?s not always that one person?s involvement alone can reap rewards, and Marsden always made sure that the very best people were part of his programs.

Marden?s leadership has seen Ford back at the forefront in the 2003 V8 Supercar Championship Series. Importantly Marsden has put in place the foundation for continued success in the coming years.

Howard Marsden will be forever remembered for his commitment to the sport, his formidable knowledge and experience, but above all for being one of the sport?s true gentlemen.

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

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