MOTORSPORT: Penske bids for Mustang V8 Supercar

US motorsport and automotive industry icon Roger Penske is campaigning within Ford for support to race the Mustang in V8 Supercars from 2017, but the Blue Oval’s Australian division is a roadblock to the project happening.

Penske moved into V8 Supercar racing this year to support his Australian transport industry investments, purchasing a majority share of privateer Ford team Dick Johnson Racing to form DJR Team Penske.

Ford Australia currently backs Prodrive Racing Australia (formerly Ford Performance Racing), but has announced it is pulling out of V8 Supercar racing from the end of this year. PRA is dominating the championship with the new FG X Falcon, with star driver Mark Winterbottom on top of the points.

DJR Team Penske’s V8 season has been more problematic. Star recruit Marcos Ambrose voluntarily stepped out of the #17 Falcon after the Australian grand prix, handing over to young gun Scott Pye. The team took a strong step in the right direction with a top 10 finish at Winton and Ambrose will drive the car for the first time since the AGP in Darwin later this month.

Penske has a close relationship with Ford in North America where his team campaigns with Blue Oval factory backing in the NASCAR stock car series.

He has made ongoing lobbying efforts through his North American contacts to keep Ford invested in V8 Supercar racing, especially looking forward to the introduction of the Gen2 technical rules in 2017, when the Mustang would become legal to race in the category with a V8, V6 or even four-cylinder engine.

The latest generation Mustang coupe and convertible go on sale in Australia late this year and will effectively replace the Falcon as Ford’s high-performance rear-wheel drive model, because the locally-designed and developed car will cease production by October 2016.

But while Penske has deep and strong ties into Ford in North America, the Australian Blue Oval outpost would have to be on-side for a factory-backed Mustang program to fly. And there seems no prospect of the local decision being reversed.

“We would love to see a Mustang compete there in V8 and we think it would be a good project to be part of,” Penske Racing President Tim Cindric told motoring.com.au. “But it would be difficult to do as an independent team.

“It is difficult to homologate any car without any factory support. There wasn’t really any factory support in doing the Falcon and it wasn’t a radical change as it would be to run a Mustang.

“So I think Ford would have to be behind it to do it the right way.”

Cindric said Penske was having an “ongoing discussion” with Ford about future involvement in V8 Supercars, but made it clear that support from Ford Australia was vital.

“I think it is very clear for the program to expand in Australia there has to be support from the Australian Ford contingent. The American Ford contingent isn’t going to push the Australian Ford contingent to do something they don’t want to do. That’s very evident.

“We enjoy the relationship with Ford and we would certainly like to see Ford for more than just our reasons be more committed to V8s because it is the heart of V8s and its heritage.

“We are running Ford and so we would like to stay where we are from a continuity standpoint.

“But to this point they haven’t shown much interest. That hasn’t changed.”

Meanwhile, despite the affiliation with Ford, Cindric confirmed the hunt continued for a manufacturer alignment for DJR Team Penske.

He played down discussions with BMW, with whom Penske has significant dealership investments overseas – as reported by motoring.com.au here.

“I think any manufacturer we come across we talk to them about it,” Cindric said. “I don’t think BMW is any different. It’s an obvious conversation to have when you look at the amount of business we do with them on the retail side.

“But I don’t think I would call it a serious conversation. It happened quite some time ago when V8s were maybe an idea for us. It was a passing conversation and not anything remarkable to be honest.”

Veteran sponsor-hunter John Crennan has been put in charge of DJR Team Penske’s quest for a manufacturer. Crennan ran Holden Special Vehicles including the Holden Racing Team for years and more recently played a key role in bringing Nissan into V8 Supercars with Kelly Racing.

Japanese luxury brand Lexus is the most high-profile potential entrant into the category from 2017.

“I think we have talked to all manufacturers,” said Cindric. “Are we committed to anything beyond where we are today? No.

“Will we continue — like every team in the paddock that doesn’t have factory support — to talk with any manufacturers who might be interested? Yes.

“Do we have any commitments for where we are going? No.”

Cindric said the priority right now was to improve on-track performance.

“If we don’t make progress on the racetrack we wouldn’t deserve to be with a manufacturer. We have to first get our house in order before we are attractive to any manufacturer. Our name isn’t going to get us where we need to be. We need results.”