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Ford V8 Star Aims to Turn Back Time in Darwin

Staff, Monday June 23, 2003.

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Pirtek Racing?s Marcos Ambrose is aiming to be the first Ford driver since Allan Moffat in 1977 to win four straight Touring Car events at round six of the 2003 V8 Supercar Championship Series at Darwin?s Hidden Valley from 27-29 of June.

Ambrose is the hottest driver in V8 Supercars after three straight victories at Eastern Creek (NSW), Winton (Victoria) and Barbagallo (WA) and two years ago he scored his first career V8 round win at the Darwin track.

Ambrose has turned the V8 racing world on its head since his arrival in 2001. Winning the V8 Rookie of the Year in the same season, the Tasmanian has taken five round wins and 10 pole position from just 31 starts.

Despite winning three rounds so far in 2003, Ambrose doesn?t see himself as a certainty in Darwin.

?I?m not saying that we won?t win, we certainly will give it our best shot, but every track is different and we will once again need to be on top of our game,? said Ambrose.

?Everyone is out to knock us off, but the determination within the team is very strong and I?m really enjoying the success, but I do want more.

?The pleasing thing about the streak is that we?ve had success at low-grip tracks at Winton and Barbagallo. Hidden Valley is a place where that won?t be an issue and our car should be really strong?.

Ambrose?s win in WA equalled Glenn Seton?s three-straight from 1993, the opportunity to be the first driver since Moffat in 1977 to win four-straight is a goal the Tasmanian wants to achieve.

That year Moffat won five in a row aboard the XCGT Falcon. The four times Touring Car and Bathurst Champion is one person who?d like to see Ambrose win in Darwin.

?It would be a great achievement and I really hope he can win,? said Moffat.

?What I find amazing about Marcos?s achievement is that it?s come in a new Falcon, and full credit must go to his Stone Brothers Racing team.

?In 1977 there weren?t too many teams that you would consider fulltime professionals in the sport, nowadays 32 plus cars turn up at each of the 13 rounds. I?d be the first to say that winning consecutive races in this era is a whole lot tougher.

?I really hope that we can keep on celebrating not just Marcos?s success this year, but also that of Ford as it?s great to see the Blue Oval hit back after some pretty lean years.?

Moffat joined Ambrose, CAT Ford Performance Racing?s Craig Lowndes, fellow Ford Racing legend Dick Johnson (Managing Director of Shell Helix Racing) and President of the Ford Motor Company of Australia Geoff Polites in Geelong on Sunday June 15 to celebrate Ford Motor Company?s 100th birthday.

During the celebrations Moffat took time out to pass on some words of wisdom to the 26-year-old.

?It was great to talk with Allan and he was very encouraging about myself and the team,? said Ambrose.

?I was only a one-year-old when Allan had his fantastic run in 1977. However, I?m fully aware of the high regard Ford and all the fans hold him in and it would be great to go close to his record?.

The Hidden Valley circuit has a number of characteristics including a long front straight, coupled with some tighter bends on the other side of the circuit. Along with the 30+ degree Celsius temperatures, the three races are a major test on man and machine.

Despite living in the cool climate of Melbourne, Ford Credit Ford Performance Racing?s Glenn Seton is looking forward to the trip north in his BA Falcon.

?We only rolled my BA Falcon out at Winton two races ago and we?re now getting a handle on making it work,? said Seton.

?With the greater grip levels at Hidden Valley I?m looking forward to scoring a good result.

?The warmer conditions in Darwin are a nice change to the drizzle of Melbourne at the moment and it won?t just be the weather that will be hot, as the action will be pretty frenetic over the three races.?

?I must say Marcos has been just awesome lately and he?s definitely the man to watch, but over the three races I know we?ll be in a position to challenge.?

Crews hit the track on Friday for the opening practice session, with Saturday including further practice, qualifying, a top-10 shootout and the opening 17-lap race. Sunday features another two races, this time over 35-laps with compulsory tyre stops.

CHAMPIONSHIP AFTER FIVE OF 13 ROUNDS
1. Jason Bright ? Team Brock ? Holden Commodore 851pts
2: Steve Richards ? Castrol Perkins Racing ? Holden Commodore 834pts
3: Marcos Ambrose ? Pirtek Racing ? Ford Falcon BA 783pts
4: Greg Murphy ? KMart Racing ? Holden Commodore 779pts
5=. Mark Skaife ? Holden Race Team ? Holden Commodore 743pts
5=. Paul Weel ? Team Brock ? Holden Commodore 743pts
7. Russell Ingall ? Caltex Havoline Racing ? Ford Falcon BA 739pts
8. Craig Lowndes ? CAT Ford Performance Racing ? Ford Falcon BA 688pts
9. Paul Radisich ? Team Betta Electrical ? Ford Falcon BA 668pts
10: Rick Kelly - KMart Racing ? Holden Commodore 659pts

Details for Hidden Valley
Top 10 Shootout ? Saturday 28 June ? 2.30pm
Race 1 (17 laps ? 49.3km) ? Saturday 28 June ? 4.30pm
Race 2 (35 laps ? 101.5km) ? Sunday 29 June ? 11.45am
Race 3 (35 laps ? 101.5km) ? Sunday 29 June ? 2.30pm

Circuit: Hidden Valley Raceway, Northern Territory
Length: 2.9km
Lap Records:
Qualifying ? Tander 1:08.4938 (2001)
Shootout ? Bright 1:07.8546 (2002)
Race ? Bright 1:09.0149 (1999)

Estimated top speed: 245km/h ? Pit Straight
Estimated average speed: 145 km/h

Ford?s V8 Line-up for Darwin
#4 Marcos Ambrose - Pirtek Racing
#9 Russell Ingall - Caltex Havoline Racing
#5 Glenn Seton - Ford Performance Racing
#6 Craig Lowndes - Ford Performance Racing
#19 David Besnard - Ford Performance Racing
#00 Greg Ritter - 00 Motorsport
#7 Rodney Forbes - 00 Motorsport
#10 Mark Larkham - Orrcon Steel Racing
#20 Jason Bargwanna - Orrcon Steel Racing
#17 Steve Johnson - Shell Helix Racing
#18 Max Wilson - Shell Helix Racing
#21 Brad Jones - OzEmail Race Team
#888 John Bowe - OzEmail Race Team
#23 Mark Noske - ICS Team Ford
#31 Steve Ellery - Super Cheap Auto Racing
#65 Paul Radisich - Team Betta Electrical
#66 TBA - Team Betta Electrical
#75 Anthony Tratt -Toll Racing

For further information contact:
Ben Beazley
Media Coordinator
Ford Racing Australia
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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