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SPECIAL

Ford Territory

SPECIAL

Ford Territory

New Car, New Look, New Initiative for Lowndes

Staff, Tuesday September 25, 2001.

Page 1 of 1

Set to debut in next weekend's V8 Supercar 1000 endurance event at Bathurst (NSW), Lowndes' new machine is the first to be designed and built from the ground up by Gibson Motorsport.

Unveiling his new racer with Ford Australia President, Geoff Polites, the three-time Australian Champion could hardly contain his enthusiasm.

"Without question this is the most technically advanced and sophisticated V8 Supercar ever built and I am very excited about its performance potential," Craig Lowndes said.

"It's a real work of art and the result of more thought, effort and expertise than any car I have been involved with before.

"Testing has already demonstrated that we have something special in this Falcon and I'm looking forward to the remainder of the season with great optimism."

Nine months in development and construction, the unveiling of the new Gibson Motorsport machine is the culmination of a program that began in January, when both driver and team dramatically switched V8 Supercar brands.

"Craig Lowndes is Australia's premier racing driver and we are proud to have him as an ambassador for our brand," Ford Australia President, Geoff Polites, said.

"His arrival has really rekindled enthusiasm for Ford in racing, it has spurred our other teams on to greater success and really motivated everyone in our organisation.

"It's been a tremendous association already and now I look forward to great success with this new car."

Lowndes' latest racer also heralds a Ford initiative to step up promotion of the Falcon brand.

When the '00' Falcon hits the track at Bathurst it will wear a dramatic new colour scheme designed by Ford's in-house stylists, Simon Butterworth and Nick Hogios, depicting the Falcon model's 'bird' emblem in profile.

"Falcon is our core product and we wanted something absolutely distinctive and completely different to anything else on the track to draw attention to the Falcon," Geoff Polites explained.

"Craig's original black and silver colour scheme certainly caused a stir earlier this year and we think this one will do the same."

Joining Ford's primary support of the Gibson Motorsport team for the first official time this season will be new commercial partners GMC, Hewlett-Packard and Mobil.

"Thanks to Ford's support we have been able to spend the time since the start of the season assembling a group of high-quality commercial partners to add value to our program," Gibson Motorsport Team Principal, Fred Gibson, said.

"Our commercial operatives have done a tremendous job putting together this select group of commercial partners, whose identity we have not been prepared to disclose until the package was complete and ready to take us into the seasons ahead.

"I am delighted to confirm that Mobil has extended its motorsport program to include our team. Hewlett-Packard has also lent its commercial and technical support for this year and beyond.

"It's certainly a diverse group, but each of them is committed to maximising the benefits of a successful partnership with Gibson Motorsport."

Joining Lowndes when he debuts the new car in next weekend's V8 Supercar 1000 endurance race at Bathurst (NSW) will be Neil Crompton.

Crompton has waited patiently since the start of the season while the new car was finished and will now be driving the team's original car in the season's remaining sprint races.

Next weekend's V8 Supercar 1000 at Bathurst is round 11 of the 2001 Shell Championship Series for V8 Supercars.

For further information contact:
Susan Higgins
Media Relations
Segal Media Services
Phone: (03) 9533 4455
Fax: (03) 9533 4466
Mobile: (0409) 423 656
Email: susan@segalmedia.com.au

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