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SPECIAL

Ford Territory

SPECIAL

Ford Territory

Its All Go For V8 Grand Finale

Staff, Tuesday December 5, 2006.

Page 1 of 1

Craig Lowndes (Triple Eight Race Engineering) will go all out to win his first V8 Supercar Championship title aboard a Ford, when he takes to the track at the Caterpillar Grand Finale this weekend at Victoria’s Phillip Island.

Lowndes has been one of the outstanding drivers of the year, but in a championship where consistency as much as round wins pays dividends, he goes into the Phillip Island round trailing Rick Kelly by seven points. There are a total of 320-points up for grabs over the three races.

Lowndes has won four rounds in 2006, including Bathurst. It’s that form that he’s looking to regain this weekend.

Lowndes will campaign a one-off paint scheme to preview 2007 primary sponsor Vodafone.

“This will be a true Ford versus Holden battle, and the pressure is really going to be on Rick and myself to get the job done,” said Lowndes.

“He will be hard to beat, and I think it will be the case of the last man standing at the end of the weekend, with both the Falcon and Commodore very evenly matched.

“Phillip Island is a track that rewards a setup which allows the car to flow through the wide open corners, and accelerate strongly and smoothly onto the straights.

“It’s one of my favourite tracks on the calendar, and I feel I’m actually at my strongest here when it is raining, so I’m hoping for a wet race.”

The simple fact is that Lowndes needs to finish ahead of Rick Kelly in each race. To do that he doesn’t need to win the round.

The favourites for the round win are Ford Performance Racing, after Jason Bright’s (CAT Ford Performance Racing) win at Bahrain and the fact that Mark Winterbottom (Ford Credit/FPV Ford Performance Racing) is sitting third in the championship chase.

“Following on from our Bahrain victory, I am looking forward to competing once again at Phillip Island,” said Jason Bright

“This is a circuit that we know will be good for us as our cars suit the fast, smooth and flowing nature of the Island and we expect to be very strong there.

“It would also be very special to win the Caterpillar Grand Finale in my last drive of the CAT FPR Falcon – and to notch another round win for Ford after sealing the Manufacturers’ Championship in Bahrain.”

Winterbottom will give it his best shot to win the round.

“It has been a great season for me and nothing could cap it off better than to take a solo win at the Caterpillar Grand Finale,” said Winterbottom.

“We know that this fast circuit particularly suits our cars and I am looking forward to putting up a strong fight for the final time this season.

“To be looking at a third Championship placing in just my third season of main game V8 Supercar racing is great and with stong results here we plan to end the season on a major high – knowing that we will be even faster next year.”

With Ford closing the chapter on the race version of the BA Falcon, Phillip Island will mark many special moments.

“Four driver’s titles in-a-row would be very special for the BA Falcon,” said Ford Racing Manager Ray Price.

“It’s going to be a great weekend. There’s so much to play for and the opposition will be very tough. But that’s the way it should be.

“I’d like to see Craig go into the final race head in the points, but you can’t predict anything in this game.

“No one at Ford is worried about the final margin – as long as it ends in Craig’s favour.”

Cars hit the track for extended practice on Friday afternoon. Qualifying, the top-10 shootout and the opening race will be on Saturday. Sunday rounds out the weekend and the season itself with two more races.

EDITORIAL NOTE

Kenny Smyth from the hit Australian film ‘Kenny’ will take a hot lap with Craig Lowndes on Friday 8 December at 4.30pm. It will end a busy 24-hours for Kenny Smyth who will be at the Australian Film Industry (AFI) Awards on Thursday evening.

Kenny has been nominated for:
. Best film
. Best director
. Best actor
. Best supporting actor
. Best screenplay

Championship after 12 of 13 rounds.

1. Rick Kelly – Toll HSV Dealer Team – Holden Commodore 3068 points
2. Craig Lowndes – Team Betta Electrical – Ford Falcon -7 points
3. Mark Winterbottom – Ford Credit / FPV Ford Performance Racing – Ford Falcon -276 points
4. Garth Tander – Toll HSV Dealer Team – Holden Commodore -359 points
5. Russell Ingall – Caltex Racing – Ford Falcon -456 points
6. Jason Bright – CAT Ford Performance Racing – Ford Falcon -457 points
7. Todd Kelly – Holden Racing Team – Holden Commodore -560 points
8. Steven Richards -Jack Daniel’s Racing – Holden Commodore -587 points
9. Steven Johnson – First Rock Home Loans Racing – Ford Falcon -834 points
10. James Courtney – JELD-WEN Motorsport – Ford Falcon -871 points

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