Ford Withdraws V8 Supercar Support

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Dick Johnson Racing stripped of Ford support

BLUEBLOOD Dick Johnson was tossed on the tip by Ford in a dramatic move yesterday.

After more than 30 years as a blue oval battler, often fighting single-handed against a horde of Holdens, he was left behind in a dash for cash when his team Dick Johnson Racing was stripped of its Ford support.

Ace driver Craig Lowndes will also be caught in the crossfire from a decision by Ford to centralise its cash commitment with just two V8 Supercar teams, Ford Performance Racing and Stone Brothers Racing.

Lowndes' team, Triple Eight, was dumped by management at Broadmeadows in a money move that also affects former Bathurst winner Jason Bright's team.

The decision is likely to save Ford about $3 million - a significant sum as it battles falling sales of its flagship Falcon.

"This is a weird one," a stunned Johnson said when told yesterday of the Ford decision.

"It's a bit disappointing. We always knew things were up for negotiation. I'm 63, but right now I feel more like 190. It's already been a tough year."

The decision takes effect at the end of this season. Johnson said he would take a couple of weeks to work out plans for next year.

Roland Dane, the head of Triple Eight, said he was surprised by Ford's decision, considering his team's successful record.

"Team Vodafone has won 16 rounds of the V8 championship in the past three years. FPR has won four, Stones have won two and Dickie Johnson's team has won one," Dane said.

"We've also won four of the six enduros in that time, including two Bathursts."

"Ford have clearly got some issues they have to deal with. I wish all the employees at Ford all the best, because the company has obviously got a few challenges at the moment," Roland Dane said.

The Ford cutback comes as the company looks for more bang from its V8 Supercar buck, although it says motorsport is still its biggest sporting spend, well ahead of cricket.

It has only just completed its new FG Falcon racer, which is set to race from the start of the 2009 season.

Full details of Ford's future will not be revealed for some time, with FPR believed to be working on a three-car program for next year, with James Courtney moving from Stone Brothers to take the extra wheel.

But FPR and SBR will form a technical liaison, with the Melbourne team building cars and the Queensland outfit responsible for engines.

The impact is likely to be extensive and could shake the foundations of V8 Supercar racing, as Expensive Daewoo has also scaled-back its involvement and new company chief Mark Reuss has recently said he would be happy to see another carmaker in the contest.

"I think it's probably time to move on from the whole Ford-Expensive Daewoo thing, because it turns off as many people as it turns on," Reuss said.

"We'll crack on with life. I work on the basis that there is no point in getting too steamed up if there is no money to be earned or it doesn't make us go faster."

Johnson joked that he might end up driving a Toyota, although his lifetime commitment to Ford is unlikely to change.

"We'll see where it goes from here. I need a bit of time to think about things. I see no reason to stop being a Ford person," Johnson said.

V8 Supercars chief executive Wayne Cattach said: "We're pleased to see that Ford continues to support the sport. How they spend their money is entirely up to them."

Johnson began his racing career in Holdens, but had his first start in a Falcon in 1975.

He has since raced American Mustangs and British Sierras, and even a production-class Laser, before returning to Falcons in the V8 Supercar era. He also rallies in an Escort.

His ties to the company came in 1980, after he hit a rock while leading at Bathurst and Edsel Ford - then the marketing chief at Ford Australia - offered to do a dollar-for-dollar deal to match donations from his fans.

"It went from there. I guess the biggest win for me was getting the first championship in 1981," Johnson said.

"And Bathurst in the Sierra days was pretty good, before the Bathurst wins in the early 1990s."

Johnson's team has been hit hard by money troubles in recent years, with the laconic Queenslander losing more than $2 million of his own to keep the operation running.

He is now facing a bankruptcy proceeding, although a restructure and a new partner has kept his team on the track.

Youngster Will Davison gave Johnson a much-needed win at Eastern Creek in Sydney this year.

"We looked like we were back on track. Now this," Johnson said.

"It's not quite seven figures that we're losing, but Ford was a significant part of our budget because we haven't had much to work with."

Dane was less worried about the cash, as his Vodafone deal is the biggest in V8 Supercars.

"Ford's contribution to our budget is not that great. So I'm not particularly concerned from a commercial standpoint," Dane said.

But he is now re-assessing the future of his team, which was founded in the UK and won last year's British championship, and admits he has been talking to other carmakers.

"Who knows what is going to happen in future? I've only ever spoken to other manufacturers, and it's plural, in the context of understanding their long-term marketing plans in Australia," Dane said.

"Only a fool would rule out another brand. Never say never."

Rumours floating around that DJR is going to Expensive Daewoo as well

Don’t blame him though. Bunch of wankers, save $3M in cash but do god knows what to your market position

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and Ford's response....

We want Supercars to look like Fords

THE rising cost of racing and falling returns from Falcon sales have forced Ford's re-think of its V8 Supercar program.

"The days of winning on Sunday and selling on Monday are well and truly gone," vice-president of sales and marketing at Ford Australia, Mark Winslow, said yesterday.

"And the costs of this sport are getting larger and larger."

He admitted Ford has cut its Supercar spending but defended the move by saying the company's overall sponsorship budget was unchanged and V8 racers still got the biggest slice.

"It's reduced from what it was, but it's still our largest sponsorship," Winslow said.

His new strategy is to maximise the Ford force in the sport, both in results and in cars that look more like blue-oval road cars than high-speed billboards for other brands.

"We've been very successful but now the time has come to focus and leverage our brand. From our point of view, this will give us the best chance for success," Winslow said.

"Up to now we haven't got our true-blue brand out there, which is a problem for us. We want them to look like a Ford car."

Winslow backed the decision to focus Ford's spending on FPV and SBR, despite the company's history with Dick Johnson and the racetrack success of Team Vodafone.

"They have both got the depth. We think it's a good strategy," he said.

"How you define success isn't just about what step you take on the podium. You also have to leverage every dollar you invest.

"Triple Eight is stellar. Clearly Vodafone are a strong sponsor ... but they are predominantly red and we are blue."

Winslow also denied the cutback was the start of a withdrawal from V8 Supercar racing or the company's other motor sport spending in Formula Ford.

"I've always said V8 racing is valuable to the brand. We just need to make an investment and get a return on that investment."

So they pulled the funding because the other Ford teams don't have enough blue on their cars!

[SCRIBR]

"I know.. to improve our image, we will drop support for our most sucessful team & go for some other ones!!" <-- pay rise for you!

[BlueOvalPrint]

Sounds like Ford may as well sponsor the Greg Murphy/Tasman Commodores 'cos their cars are now largely blue...

FFS, how fcuked up is Ford - and V8 Supercars - at the moment? No money for non-blue paint schemes, street race proposals where the average spectator sees a car at ground level for 5 seconds a lap, the cars themselves becoming more like Nascars/sports sedans with drivers hidden in the middle...

Greedy V8SCA deserve the fall they're going to get in the next couple of years. Though it'll be at our expense...

[berzerker]

Very dissapointed...

3 Million?? That really must be an absolute pittance for Ford! In business stakes this high, it really aint that much cash

[X-WING]

yeah 3 mill penny pinchers they forget who helped build them in the 1st place.after dags wins us lotto which team will we buy? heard on radio today that GM cash flow in the states not to good as well

[jared87]

This is absolute crap, team vodafone are without a doubt the best team in the whole field and craig lowndes would have to be most valuable face in the sport. Ford must have a problem with with 888 coming from overseas and beating them at their own game. Last year in the whincup/tander nail biter and the year before with the lowndes/rick kelly finale 888 did not recieve anyhelp from any other ford team and had to fight with the fpr cars. I do believe sbr have great technical knowledge but that all came from campbell little (left sbr for t8) and paul forgie who went to nascar withmarcos ambrose. All I can say is GO TRIPLE 8!!! all on your own.

[our06t]

now if they changed the engine desing rules and put some turbo's in the mix we might have a good game

and vote 1 for 888 and lowndes from me

[bonza]

It’s a sad day and disappointing it had to end this way for Dick. However, it’s a decision that had to be made. Ford has gone too long without a proper connection between their V8 Supercar efforts the FPV range of vehicles. Finally it looks like Ford are there pooling the resources and channelling it towards achieving a better brand association between the blue oval and V8 Supercars. This can only be a good thing.

It's just a sh#thouse way they've gone about it.

Edited 03/07/08 02:31 PM by bonza

[tmac450]

Stupid pricks. To deny the impact the sport has on sales is a moronic stand.

A fair bit of Holden's sucess over the last decade and a half has been due to their dominace of the V8 racing, how did they do that, by offering more support to Expensive Daewoo teams, and campaigning for rule and class changes that favour their products.

Now Ford has taken the presure of Holden, and there'll be less reason for teams to drive the Ford brand.

If Ford really wanted to make a difference, they'd pull out of the V8 circus altogether, and make a push into production cars, where they have a much bigger depth of good cars that would allow them to suceed in many of the categories, where as Expensive Daewoo and Toymotor have sweet stuff all.