[HSE2]

Before Bathurst i thought FTR had to do extremely well to aviod some changes at the end of the season.

While I believe FTR still have part of their contract to run does anyone else think Ford are struggling with what to do with what looks like two Factory efforts. The Gibson Car has a very strong Ford links but they seemed to have been unable to score a major sponsor. I find it hard to believe that this would be the case if they were actually looking for one.

I mean you haven't seen Ford design a paint scheme for Glenn have you?

Ford have come under fire in recent motorsport publications for not having an official factory team. I wonder what the future of FTR might be in 2002 and beyond!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Grunter]

I could be wrong but I believe that the Gibson/Lowdes cars primary sponsor is Ford, with Mobil, Hewlett Packard and GMC as supporting sponsors.

From the Gibson Motorsport Web Site Press Release:

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.

I still cannot believe that Lowdes hit the wall. That early into the race with rain pissing down I would have thought that very slow would have been the way to go and catch up any cars that passed later on when safe (aka HRT).

Also it sometimes seems that most Ford teams greatest enemy's are their tacticains.

btw, does anyone have a Bandaid for my head, as I've stopped banging my head against the wall now.

:CraZ:

 

[RPO83]

I really think that Ford went a little too far with their factory support as they are in a situation where they have spread the support too thinly.

Although this makes the results a mixed one in terms of Ford front runners in various races, it does not provide the brand with the same dominant resemblence that HRT has given the Holden brand.

They should have spent the greatest time and effort into FTR and then once in a fairly dominant position, fed the technologies into the other teams.
The whole thing about this type of mass factory support will be that ultimately Ford will likely cut back to a limited number of cars again.

The question is, do we want quality or quantity?
At least at the moment we're getting variety unlike Holden supporters.

 

[HSE2]

I really think that Ford went a little too far with their factory support as they are in a situation where they have spread the support too thinly.

Although this makes the results a mixed one in terms of Ford front runners in various races, it does not provide the brand with the same dominant resemblence that HRT has given the Holden brand.

They should have spent the greatest time and effort into FTR and then once in a fairly dominant position, fed the technologies into the other teams.
The whole thing about this type of mass factory support will be that ultimately Ford will likely cut back to a limited number of cars again.

The question is, do we want quality or quantity?
At least at the moment we're getting variety unlike Holden supporters.

I couldn't agree more. In fact I have tried to ask Ford about this and have had no luck. Especially when a brand name like Tickford is involved.

Don't get me wrong. I was right behind the move to get Lowdnes BUT only if it meant we didn't lose Ambrose and that FTR wouldn't be affected. One out of two ain't bad I suppose

 

[Kieron]

I couldn't agree more. In fact I have tried to ask Ford about this and have had no luck. Especially when a brand name like Tickford is involved.

Don't get me wrong. I was right behind the move to get Lowdnes BUT only if it meant we didn't lose Ambrose and that FTR wouldn't be affected. One out of two ain't bad I suppose

But we havn't lost Ambrose and FTR havn't suffered, it seems obvious that FTR's own cars arn't the best, the new Behag job is way better.

I vaguely recall Marsden mentioning that it doesn't matter to Ford which Falcon is up the front, I can see the point in backing multiple teams, it isn't like years gone by when only 1 or 2 Falcons are capable of winning (putting your eggs into one basket), take this years Bathurst for instance - Johnson drops out, but we still had Bowe, Lowndes, Seton (Ambrose was out of contention at this point) all in front running cars, a few years back, we really had only Johnson and Seton and possibly an SBR car.

I think what Ford have doen this year is exactly what a manufacturer should be doing, providing $$$'s, support and tieing up good drivers to the blue oval across multiple teams, leaving the teams to organise themselves/race strategy etc.

here how I saw Ford lose at Bathurst this year -

Ambrose - driver error?
Johnson - mechanical failure
Lowndes - driver error
Bowe - driver error
Seton - strategy/driver error

Lots of driver error that Ford couldn't fix by backing 1 team

I will also add, that on the Holden side of the fence, they had 4 cars capable of winning - Skaife, Bright, Ingall, Murphy and even some single car Ford teams looked better every now and again, Brad Jones and Ellery spring to mind!!

Kieron

 

[HSE2]

That is an interesting reply kerion but I wasn't really refering to the on track situation.

Ford are in motor sport to sell cars. The brand name that is common to the track is Ford and Tickford. Ford put those two names together and that team has suffered. When Prodrive took Tickford over, David Richards made a public statement saying he couldn't understand why the "face" of Ford was performing at the level they were.
Well the answer to that is that FTR don't have the full support and resorces that HRT enjoy.
Prodrive then stated that they looked forward to elevating FTR s position. Seton welcomed the news. The very next week Marsden was quoted as saying he wanted Prodrive involved in all teams.
While it is true that having many competitve teams is a reasonable insurance policy it will also hand many championship points back to Holden as the Ford teams will continue to take points off one another. HRT/HSV. That is the marketing link that sells cars.
Perkins can perform all he wants on the track but his success isn't going to have anywhere near the impact in the minds of the target group that a HSV win would have.
This isn't about putting your eggs in one basket.
Once you put your premium brand on a product on the race track you have to put everything into it. A limp rep on the track will head straight back to the road cars. A strong rep on the track will shift those cars. The owners will be proud of the Tickford wings and there is only one team that carries those wings. This is a very marketable image. Ever bit as desirable as the racing lion. Tickford is the one strong thing Ford have had going for them. By name association only a poor performing team that carries that name has to hurt the retail business.
If it doesn't then there is no point to Ford being in racing at all.

Had Ford not decided to put Tickford on the flanks of cars I wouldn't have a problem with this. But they did. It is my belief that their direction in Motorsport is either confused or they don't fully understand the importance of brand marketing and imagery.
What Ford are saying is that the public don't see a distinction between SBR, FTR, DJR winning. As long as the Ford badge is in front that is all that matters. That might be right for certain sections, but you only have to look at the merchandise one particular Holden team shifts to know that it won't hold water when it come to attracting new people to firstly the sport and secondly the brand.

Soon the sport is going to have a serious imbalance in Fords favour. While it is good for us it will create a situatuion where the governing body will have to take action.

 

[Kieron]

While it is true that having many competitve teams is a reasonable insurance policy it will also hand many championship points back to Holden as the Ford teams will continue to take points off one another. HRT/HSV. That is the marketing link that sells cars.
Perkins can perform all he wants on the track but his success isn't going to have anywhere near the impact in the minds of the target group that a HSV win would have.
This isn't about putting your eggs in one basket.
Once you put your premium brand on a product on the race track you have to put everything into it. A limp rep on the track will head straight back to the road cars. A strong rep on the track will shift those cars. The owners will be proud of the Tickford wings and there is only one team that carries those wings. This is a very marketable image. Ever bit as desirable as the racing lion. Tickford is the one strong thing Ford have had going for them. By name association only a poor performing team that carries that name has to hurt the retail business.
If it doesn't then there is no point to Ford being in racing at all.

Had Ford not decided to put Tickford on the flanks of cars I wouldn't have a problem with this. But they did. It is my belief that their direction in Motorsport is either confused or they don't fully understand the importance of brand marketing and imagery.
What Ford are saying is that the public don't see a distinction between SBR, FTR, DJR winning. As long as the Ford badge is in front that is all that matters. That might be right for certain sections, but you only have to look at the merchandise one particular Holden team shifts to know that it won't hold water when it come to attracting new people to firstly the sport and secondly the brand.

Soon the sport is going to have a serious imbalance in Fords favour. While it is good for us it will create a situatuion where the governing body will have to take action.

I understand what your saying HSE, so i'll try to answer some of your post below -

Regarding taking Ford points of one another - the championship is a drivers championship, you can win it by not even winning a race, this almost happend when DJ was running the sole competitive Falcon back in the early 80's, he only won one race and that was due to Moffats Mazda failing iirc, I would also add that Fords total lack of Motorsport involvement in the 80's is directly responsible for the 'oldy' image the Falcon has had over the last few years.

Now 'insurance in numbers' gives FoMoCo a much greater chance of a Falcon winning on race day, especially the prized Bathurst, look at HRT, first time they have won Bathurst for years, 3 other Holden teams have kept the Holden flag flying at Bathurst, the advertising says Holden Wins Bathurst again, rather than HRT and/or HSV wins Bathurst.

Fords target market at the moment is the younger market who will one day buy a Ford/Holden, I think from Fords point of view, they want to make sure these youngsters see a Falcon take as many race wins as possible, ie the public sees many Falcon wins on the Sunday rather than a handful of wins by one Falcon who map happen to win the Drivers Championship.

The Tickford wings - Ford are in fact trying to market Ford via the Falcon here hence the large Ford ovals on the FTR/GMS cars and the use of 'Falcon' wording on the Ford backed Falcons and the increased Falcon wording on the GMS car, don't forget the Lion on the HRT car isn't a HSV logo, its of course the equivelent of the Ford Oval, I don't even think HSV is mentionted on the HRT cars?

Now once they have got us hooked on the Brand, we will of course espire to buy the 'winged' performance version's, although in my case i've had to go thru a few Mustangs, Euro Capris, LTD's etc to get there

It would be good if David Flint or Geoff Polites popped in and set us straight here

Kieron

 

[XYFalcon]

I personally believe that that FTR cars are very fast and competitive enough to muscle it with any of the cars in the field, they proved that with their qualifying results for Bathurst.

I also believe that the drivers they have are top notch also.

I personally feel that all their troubles and lack lustre performances are coming from the efforts of their strategists. Just about every single race where FTR have been doing extremely well and then fallen off has been due to a bad stragety call.

It seems to happen way too often for my liking, and in some cases it's almost painful to watch them make a decision when I know they're almost certainly going to make a wrong call that costs their car the race.

Everyone else in the field knows that as soon as the pace car is called on, to dive into the pits, not after it's been out for a while or when the race resumes. Simple, get your act together guys!!!

 

[HSE2]

Kieron

I understand what your saying HSE, so i'll try to answer some of your post below -

Regarding taking Ford points of one another - the championship is a drivers championship, you can win it by not even winning a race, this almost happend when DJ was running the sole competitive Falcon back in the early 80's, he only won one race and that was due to Moffats Mazda failing iirc, I would also add that Fords total lack of Motorsport involvement in the 80's is directly responsible for the 'oldy' image the Falcon has had over the last few years.
Kieron [/B][/QUOTE]

Our problem in the early part of the season was that Ford had 3 or 4 race wins and were sixth in the championship. The teams were either not consistant or reliable. You won't win a title like that. We already had that insurance in place and it didn't help. There is a number that you need and like any insurance you can go over board.

Now 'insurance in numbers' gives FoMoCo a much greater chance of a Falcon winning on race day, especially the prized Bathurst, look at HRT, first time they have won Bathurst for years, 3 other Holden teams have kept the Holden flag flying at Bathurst, the advertising says Holden Wins Bathurst again, rather than HRT
and/or HSV wins Bathurst.
Kieron [/QUOTE

Bathurst isn't a good example to use although arguable it is the race that will give you the biggest image boost in the market sector.
How many championship titles have HSV won and how many titles have other Holden teams won in the last ten years!
I am telling you now the other Holden teams make up a very small but very important part of Holdens domination image

Kieron

Fords target market at the moment is the younger market who will one day buy a Ford/Holden, I think from Fords point of view, they want to make sure these youngsters see a Falcon take as many race wins as possible, ie the public sees many Falcon wins on the Sunday rather than a handful of wins by one Falcon who map happen to win the Drivers Championship.

The Tickford wings - Ford are in fact trying to market Ford via the Falcon here hence the large Ford ovals on the FTR/GMS cars and the use of 'Falcon' wording on the Ford backed Falcons and the increased Falcon wording on the GMS car, don't forget the Lion on the HRT car isn't a HSV logo, its of course the equivelent of the Ford Oval, I don't even think HSV is mentionted on the HRT cars?

Now once they have got us hooked on the Brand, we will of course espire to buy the 'winged' performance version's, although in my case i've had to go thru a few Mustangs, Euro Capris, LTD's etc to get there

It would be good if David Flint or Geoff Polites popped in and set us straight here

Kieron [/B]

Hmmmmmmmmmmm

Good luck on that.

At one stage in the championship this year Ford as a group had outperformed Holden, but Holden held the first five spots on the championship ladder.
There is no manufactures title so as you point out it only takes one consistent driver and you have your champion. We could be looking at up to 15 ford supported falcons with no factory tag.
Ford are not back in motorsport until they reinstate the offical factory team. Everything else is window dressing. Last weeks Auto Action called for the very same.
There is a misconception that FTR is factory. It has been that way for 2 years and no attempt to inform the public seems to have worked. It is the young market that this misconception is more common.

The problem here is that Holden have a factory team, Ford don't. simple as that.
No arguement that Ford are trying to lift the image of Falcon.
You don't need to have Falcon pasted on the side of a car. Blind freddy can see that it is a Ford Falcon XR model on the track. That goes without saying.

The only reason that Falcon appears on the cars is that the teams don't carry enough sponsors to take the space!

However and I will say this again, when you introduce the word Tickford to a race product your marketing HAS to CHANGE.

You say ford want to get people first into Ford products and then move to the performance arena. It has been the sales of the HSV and SS type cars that have hurt Ford the most.
This is Holden thinking. "Perform on the race track, create an image of being a winner. Make people want to aspire to the very best. Then you have sales through associasion. I cant' afford that HSV this time but that is where I want to be so there is no point starting with a Forte is there"

If you don't think HSV is on the HRT cars you had better take another look. The racing lion is the emblem of HSV. The lion is the emblem of Holden.

We are talking about two issues.
I agree with part of what your saying. Lifting the image of falcon is important, but you don't do that at the expense of a brand name like Tickford. You don't go out and try and sell a Forte at the expense of an XR.

Now alot of this is going to be void when the next Falcon comes along.

Put simply YOU DO NOT HAVE A BRAND NAME LIKE TICKFORD ASSOCIATED WITH POOR PERFORMANCE. Regardless of anything else it is that simple. If that means dropping two teams from an already crowded field then so be it.

 

[FM]

YOU DO NOT HAVE A BRAND NAME LIKE TICKFORD ASSOCIATED WITH POOR PERFORMANCE

Damn straight on that. Whether FTR are full factory or not they are the team that has to up the pointy end challenging HRT. They carry the wings and the oval. The other teams just carry the oval..

 

[HSE2]

Damn straight on that. Whether FTR are full factory or not they are the team that has to up the pointy end challenging HRT. They carry the wings and the oval. The other teams just carry the oval..

Dam Now why couldn't I have just said that!

 

[The_RAT]

so true guys

ftr needs to be winning and ftr needs to stay with seto they cant switch it to another team either cos it will look bad adn also people associate seto as the leading ford guy even when hes not leading

also the last few years of school teh guys would always be going on about how crap ftr is and they are the offical ford team and stuff like this. even the guys that dont follow the racing but check out results and tune in for bathurst every year are the same and they compare hrt to ftr

now ford has lowndes though there is another problem cos all teh guys that have switched over to support lowndes need to be kept supporting fords and so lowndes needs to be in a top level car but ftr need to be right up there to keep the name going

djr is an important team though nowhere near as important as the two previously mentioned ones but they have a lot of support and well they are gonna always be good anyway and now after the season ambrose has had he needs to alawys be up there


and that really i believe is all the important ones, the other guys are jsut their keeping the ford flag flying in case something goes wrong.



FTR MUST BECOME AN OFFICIAL FACTORY TEAM !!!!!!!

 

[Venom XR]

I don't necessarily agree that Ford need a factory team. The extent to which Ford is supporting all the Ford teams, some more than others, means Ford drivers are in better positions than Holden drivers. If you are in a Holden, and not in a TWR-prepped car then your chances aren't good. Paul Morris did well one weekend, but was a back marker the next race.

Ford support their teams as a group. We got the 'Ford Rebels' poster in our trip kits, showing various Ford drivers like Lowndes, Besnard, Ambrose, etc. It's a family approach that I think will yield good results next year. The public perception of a winning Holden is of a red car with a driver sporting a large nose. What if next year, we have a dominant family of teams doing well, grouped solely by a oval shaped blue badge with 'Ford' on it? By far the better outcome in my opinion.

During the trip last week, many of us got the overwhelming feeling that we were being temporarily 'adopted' into a large, but welcoming family. Ford have done the same thing with their race teams, and that should be applauded. A factory backed family of teams that as a large group, all doing well and dominating the upper half of the grid - the best marketing Ford could possibly have.

 

[JEM]

It's taken me a while to respond to this thread, but this is some good discussion in here

While I agree with allot of points made by everybody, I also have a view that may vary from the majority.

Firstly what I don't want to see is V8 Supercars turn into a competition between 2 factory teams, it will become very boring and to me will be like Formula 1, where only 1 of 2 teams is capable of winning the championship. While I'm sure I wouldn't complain if FTR were the factory team and the only ford team capable of winning the championship, this would wear off on me quickly. I would rather see competetive racing by most FORD/HOLDEN teams, with equal support by the Factory, leaving the emphasis on the driver/team to win the championship. There is no reason why marketing of a product can't be focused on the performance of more than 1 team, the Tickford image can be represented by all FORD teams.....why not???

And why don't we have a manufacturers championship along with the drivers championship??

 

[RPO83]

What a perplexing topic this has become!

It would be boring to see just two teams capable of winning a championship, but at the current stage the category is at, we are only seeing one. Ford is taking a stab at it by what they are doing but in my view they haven't gone in for the kill.

What holden have done with HRT is outstanding (in a strategic POV). They did exactly what they should have done to evolve into the best team in the last decade. They provided a synergy between the racing HRT cars and the HSV cars early on in the game with the Group A C'dore's as an example.

It obviously takes time to get the No.1 on the side of the car and I believe the fastest way to get it is to unfortunately to put your eggs in one basket. And once you are in that strong position you can then feed the other branded teams with the information, or expand your operation like TWR has done.

It would be good to hear about Ford Racing's long term strategy for the category though. Perhaps Geoff could get Howard Marsden to set us straight?

 

[HSE2]

Well I am rapped this topic has gone in the direction it has.

I am not saying I am right on this and for that matter I am not saying that what I say is what I believe but I have said what I have to prompt thought.

Ok I have tried to get Geoff to comment on a variation of this topic and basically got ignored.

I can't say what Tickfords view is!

I will fall off my chair if i see a response to this thread.

Venom - I don't doubt that that was the impression and feeling you got from your trip.
There is also no doubt that Ford and not the respective teams hold the contracts for individual drivers. Both Ambrose and Craig have contracts like this.
But the fact remains that when FTR was formed it put alot of noses out of joint amoungst the other Ford runners.

As it is you don't need to have FTR as factory. The wording alone is going to direct people into thinking it is factory. So it doesn't matter if it isn't or not. Think about this from the position of the target age group that may not be as enlightened as we are.

While I agree that there is a risk of two teams running away with the comp, I fail to see how having one team dominate fixes this problem. That is easily fixed by the governing body addressing parity the way it should. Something history has shown us they are reluctant to do. In motorsport the team with the biggest budget wins. Until a capping is introduced on teams nothing will change that. Then you have a problem of policing such measures.
F1 has gone the way it has because the teams don't have equal budgets. You buy your championship. That is the reality of motorsport.
Nascar is the exception. There are no factory teams, but the teams are all very equal. They all have very similar budgets and the rules have them screwed down in a way that there is little room to move. The fact there are very little electronics has a huge influence. But one day that will change!


Having the name of a "tuner" if you like on the side of a car is reasonable rare when you consider that it is window dressing only. And by that I mean that David Flint doesn't run FTR.
The same can't be said for HSV/HRT It is the same guy the one and only Crennan! To have HRT out perform the rest is a huge motivational tool as it will shift more road cars no question.
Does anyone want to tell me that is a situation that David wouldn't want to be in?


Now we come back to the Tickford image.

"having a family of fords win is a far better outcome"

This reasoning must be correct. It is the view and direction that FMC of Aus has taken and thus it is very hard to argue.

I will say this. The market Tickford are going into is not an easy one and forget Tickford as it once was.
Remember that Tickford only sits on the side of a car to raise its image.
Ford often look to Tickford to raise the image of Ford
They don't go to SBR or DJR.
It is a huge gamble because if that team doesn't perform then it has to reflect on the image of the road cars.
Lifting the falcon image at grass roots isn't going to help them (tickford) now. By the time this Target age group gets to a position to be able to afford Tickfords cars they would have closed their doors.
Right now and for the next 5 to 10 years Tickford have to sway HSV buyers. Holden have proved (provided that there marketing released to the public is the truth) that their owners want to be assosiated with an image of winning and beeing successful.
There are two respective race teams that have that link. I fail to see how all teams can carry the Tickford flag so to speak unless there is some sort of attempt to do so. In other words FTR would have to be removed and replaced with an image of Tickford/prodrive being associated with all teams. All the cars would have to carry the signage and then you need to make the public see the difference and hopefully the lift in performance will be associated/linked in the publics minds by Tickfords involvement.

The market HSV have is not what Holden would want you to believe. An SS owner is more likely to be owned by a historic Holden owner, one that won't change brand no matter what. HSV is not the same way. Right now their buyer base is loyal but they don't have an option do they. The Australian market is so very tough. In future the cars are going to be so close that the smallest thing could sway a buyer. It is extremely possible that a buyer aged 50 would not purchase a Tickford car because the race team with whose name it is associated doesn't have the cred, even though he knows the Tickford product is better. That person isn't going to consider any other Ford product and out the door he walks.
People when talking about this subject tend to forget that it also works in the reverse age group and it is this group that has the money to spend now
Some people may not be aware that every now and then HSV/HRT go on a little marketing run on their website and in the club letter and publish the stats on a few figures. Any one want to guess which race team is targeted along side HRT and what road cars are the targeted against HSV?
Once you have answered that ask yourselves why they would bother to do it!

 

[RAPTOR]

Well I've just spent far too long reading this whole thread not to add my 2cents worth.

As stated above by Kieron, this is a Drivers championship. To get maximum marketing value you need to support the winning Driver! So who has the best strategy? Support a group of teams that all contain drivers capable of winning (ie. Ford) OR your full support behing one team (which depending on your view has 2 cars (HRT) or 4 cars (HRT + KMart) with drivers capable of winning (ie Holden). From the results at hand it seems that the Holden model is more successful as there is less in-house competition for points between the leading Holden cars.

Now, the question I want answered is why is this a Drivers championship? As the whole V8Supercar marketing strategy is about Holden-vs-Ford surely the outcome should be between Holden and Ford. This should be a Manufacturers Championship!
Ford are you lobbying AVESCO for a Manufacturers Championship?

Clearly the Ford strategy would seem to make the most sense if the Championship outcome was based on Brand rather than Driver (with the Brand then able to claim bragging rights). I have no trouble with a Drivers Championship being run concurrent with a Manufacturers Championship but the entertainment value for me is much greater with a range of team/drivers being competitive and winning.

Wouldn't these headlines be far more palatable;

FORD WINS V8SUPERCAR CHAMPIONSHIP
Marke Skaife wins Drivers Championship

 

[Falchoon]

the best marketing Ford could possibly have.

I think one of the best marketing moves by Ford was to let all you nutcases loose down there last week!:nuts: You have all come back raving about how good Ford and Tickford are, and saying what good blokes Geoff and David are.

I agree that Ford and Tickford still have a while to go before they have the same "cred" as HSV. A few more wins on the racetrack is needed(Bathurst priority 1:fmad, I don't think it matters greatly if it is FTR or DJR or BJR.
Maybe Ford have spread themselves a bit thin, sponsering so many different teams. They made a great marketing move by taking Lowndes on board, so I guess they need to continue the support by giving GMS some bucks. If they give FTR/GSR and GMS money well they are sort of obliged to give the others a leg up too.
It doesn't matter if FTR are a factory Ford team, as long as they deliver some bacon for Ford, as the other teams would be expected to as well.
A lot of Holden fans don't like Skaife as a person (I'm not his #1 fan but I admire he's arguably one of the best drivers), and also get sick of red Commodores winning every weekend. Lowndes has great personality and is (usually) a great driver a well so he will do much to lift the image of Ford.
Ford need to get out more and start praisng up everything they do, rather than just sit back and say "Our cars are better, but why isn't anyone buying them".
Everytime Ford score a point on Holden, wether it's on the race track or on the street (such as ute sales) they should sing it from the roof tops and take out colour full page adverts in the major newspapers.
Hopefully the new T-Series cars with the much needed power upgrade and more radical body kit will go some way as well to enhancing Ford's image. The 250kw Pursuit ute as well. Ford should fastrack this project ASAP, they are already several years behind Holden/HSV with this.

 

[Kieron]

Wouldn't these headlines be far more palatable;

FORD WINS V8SUPERCAR CHAMPIONSHIP
Marke Skaife wins Drivers Championship

Many moons ago, there was a Manufacturers Championship, and if memory serves, it consisted of the Sandown 500, Bathurst and one or two shorter race.

It would be an idea to simply allocate points to a Ford or Holden win on the current championship similar to the WRC.

As i mentioned earlier though, Ford are marketing to the younger generation, when they sit and watch a race and a Falcon wins then that looks good for Ford (regardless of which team) and even better if that race happens to be Bathurst, the advertising afterwards will read FORD WINS BATHURST again regardless of team.

Imagine if Brad Jones had won Bathurst - FORD UNDERDOG BEATS FACTORY HOLDENS

Look at NASCAR in USA, Ford don't race their premier product - SVO Mustang, they race a Taurus and SVO isn't advertised on the cars.

I think that HSE's main point is Ford Aust. initially setup FTR in conjunction with Seton as a works team but unfortunatly, Ford USA said no to any works teams and then approx. 2 years later, Ford Aust. seem to have set up another works team with GMS rather than getting behind FTR.
I suspect the reasoning behind this was Ford wanted Lowndes (Great PR guy and great driver), but FTR couldn't have 2 lead drivers and being honest here, Seton isn't the worlds best PR guy and it wouldn't have been right to place Lowndes in a factory backed FTR team and become the public face for the team - its Setons team

Kieron

 

[HSE2]

Look at NASCAR in USA, Ford don't race their premier product - SVO Mustang, they race a Taurus and SVO isn't advertised on the cars.

I think that HSE's main point is Ford Aust. initially setup FTR in conjunction with Seton as a works team but unfortunatly, Ford USA said no to any works teams and then approx. 2 years later, Ford Aust. seem to have set up another works team with GMS rather than getting behind FTR.
I suspect the reasoning behind this was Ford wanted Lowndes (Great PR guy and great driver), but FTR couldn't have 2 lead drivers and being honest here, Seton isn't the worlds best PR guy and it wouldn't have been right to place Lowndes in a factory backed FTR team and become the public face for the team - its Setons team

Kieron

yeah getting close and you are right about what you say. I hear Craig didn't want to be part of FTR and in fairness to Glenn he as you say isn't a good pr man.
I think they need Ambrose in their myself. He doesn't have the Holden bagage as such.

But my main point of concern is from the Tickford stand point.
What is good for Tickford might not be the same as what is good for Ford.

Prodrive stated that they would get involved in racing in Australia if it helped them sell cars.
If prodrive was to buy Glenn out do you think FTR would continue on it merry way?
FTRs non performance is bad for Tickford!
FTRs non performance doesn't actually mean bad news for Ford, and I guess that is my main point.
If David Flint or Dave Richards controlled FTR do you think they would be playing ball with the other teams!