MOTORSPORT: Penske takes control of DJR

The arrival of Roger Penske's motorsport empire in Australia means the end of Dick Johnson's control of his professional touring car team after 34 years.

That was one of a number of significant facts to come out of a media teleconference today to explain the new DJR Team Penske operation that will be the vehicle for former V8 Supercars champion Marcos Ambrose to return to Australia after nine years racing in the USA.

Johnson was part of the media call today, along with the billionaire owner of Penske Racing, Roger Penske, Ambrose and the president of Penske Racing, Tim Cindric.

Penske confirmed during the call that the new entity created would be 51 per cent owned by Penske Racing. It would house the two Racing Entitlements Contracts (RECs) underpinning the #17 Ford Falcon Ambrose will campaign next year, as well as the sister car for which a driver has yet to be confirmed.

It means Johnson, the five-times touring car champion and three-times Bathurst 1000 winner, will no longer control a race team that has experienced great success and also teetered on the verge of collapse several times during its existence.

Johnson has also fought off a series of suitors and restructures over the years.

"I think anyone would be more than happy to hand over control to the Penske organisation of any motor racing business to be quite honest," Johnson said.

"I have been involved in motor racing for many years and over those years we have had a lot of success. But in recent times the success hasn't been what I got into this business for originally.

"So at this point I see this as a way for us to run at the front of the field in the future."

Johnson said he expected 2015 to be a "learning year" for the 'new' squad before attacking for the championship in 2016.

"If anyone thinks we are going to come out of the box and win races from day one that would be a pie in the sky attitude. Next year will be a learning year for all of us and then we will have a really good crack in 2016.

"But boy, the opportunities here are endless with the technical expertise that we can get from Penske and the sort integration with the team we have here and the facility will be nothing short of spectacular."

Penske revealed the chances of his operations committing to V8 Supercars had waxed and waned through a process that first became public when Cindric visited the season-ending Homebush race in 2013.

"This didn't happen overnight," said Penske.

"There have been some starts and stops. We thought earlier on we were just going to be able to just get a car and look at it and the league [V8 Supercars] told us we could have that and then told us quickly after that we couldn't have a car and bring it to the USA.

"That was disappointing and at one point we decided not to compete. But in the end we decided to push the green button and keep going.

"It's kind of evolved over the last several weeks. This isn't something we had for sure six months ago," Penske stated.

Other key facets of the new operation that were also confirmed today were:

•    Two new senior staff are to join the team: Penske veteran Jeff Swartwout will become team manager; Australian Nick Hughes who has worked in F1 and NASCAR will be technical director
•    Australian industry veteran John Crennan moves from Nissan Motorsport to assist on the commercial side
•    Current DJR boss Ryan Story will become the Managing Director of the new entity
•    There is currently no commercial backing from Ford for the new team and there is only a guarantee that the team will race Falcons in 2015
•    Sponsorship for the new team will come from Penske's own Australian business investments, but outside support is also expected
•    a decision on whether the team will continue DJR's current technical deal with Ford Performance Racing is a high priority
•    Ditto a decision on whether it can upgrade to the new FG X Falcon in 2015
•    The team will be based at the existing DJR facility at Stapylton on the Gold Coast
•    The future of current team drivers Scott Pye and David Wall is unknown

It is clear there is still much detail to be resolved, but also that once up and running, this operation will have the resources and talent to join the likes of Tripe Eight Race Engineering (Red Bull) and Walkinshaw Racing (Holden Racing Team) as leading players in V8 Supercars racing.

Ambrose ran the line expertly between confidence and arrogance in the teleconference, insisting that at 38 he could come back into V8 Supercars and be competitive, but also making it clear that he did not expect to be a dominant force.

He deflected a suggestion he would struggle to match Jamie Whincup, the five-times champion who has emerged as the dominant player in V8 Supercars since Ambrose departed for NASCAR in 2006.

"He has two arms and two legs like every other driver out there, but he has done an amazing job and congratulations to him. He certainly has an approach to his racing that has worked, an incredible talent behind the wheel and clearly a lot of dedication to his craft.

"He is at the top of the list of guys we will compete against, but he is just one," Ambrose stated.

"I am certainly not going to stand up here today and tell you I am going to come home and dominate the world. I have a big challenge in front of me to re-integrate into the series, to re-adapt my driving style to suit these cars, to change my style to suit the racing and code of conduct on the track.

"But I have a lot of strength around with Dick Johnson Racing and Team Penske putting their might behind this project. It is going to take us time but we believe we are in racing to win and that is what our intent will be."

Ambrose revealed he would split his time between a family base in his Launceston Tasmania hometown and a property in south east Queensland he acquired when he raced for Stone Brothers Racing.

The 2003-04 V8 Supercars Champion said a first win in the Bathurst 1000 was one of his major ambitions.

He will get his first chance to sample a new generation V8 Supercar toward the end of the year at a ride day and will also attend the championship finale at Homebush in December.