Team
Penske has confirmed that it will form a partnership with Dick Johnson Racing to
compete in the Australian V8 Supercars Championship, beginning in 2015. Working
with DJR, the longest-established motor racing team in Australia, Team Penske will
race next season in the ultra-competitive touring car series that features
events contested at Australia’s top motorsport venues.
DJR
Team Penske will compete with Ford Falcons in the 2015 V8 Supercars
Championship with a true hero of Australian motorsports behind the wheel.
Marcos Ambrose will return to the Series where he drew international acclaim to
race the iconic No. 17 Ford for DJR Team Penske. Ambrose is a two-time V8
Supercars champion; winning back-to-back titles in 2003 and 2004. He
transitioned to a winning career in NASCAR where he has earned seven wins and eight
pole positions while competing in the Sprint Cup, Nationwide and Camping World
Truck Series over the past nine seasons.
“Team
Penske is excited to partner with Dick Johnson Racing to compete in the V8
Supercars Championship starting next season,” said Roger Penske. “We believe in
building our businesses through racing and our success on the track. With our
new business ventures in Australia, it makes sense to showcase our brands
through the V8 Supercars Championship and the opportunity to work with DJR and
Marcos Ambrose convinced us to go forward.”
Ambrose,
a native of Launceston, Tasmania, is one of the most successful drivers in the
history of the V8 Supercars Championship. In the 65 rounds in which he competed
from 2001 to 2005, he won 28 individual races.
“This
is a great opportunity to return home to a place that I love in a Series where
I’ve experienced a lot of success,” said Ambrose, who has earned two career
victories at the highest level of NASCAR competition – the Sprint Cup Series.
“It will be an honor to race for two motorsport legends in Roger Penske and
Dick Johnson.”
The
partnership between Team Penske and Dick Johnson Racing brings together two
organizations that have experienced tremendous success in their respective
disciplines. Team Penske has produced more than 400 race wins and 26 national
championships in its storied history while DJR has earned over 80 victories and
seven Australian Touring Car/V8 Supercar titles in over 35 years of racing.
“We
are certainly looking forward to this new challenge,” said Dick Johnson, a
legendary driver himself who claimed five Australian Touring Car Championships
and won the prestigious Bathurst 1000 race three times before he retired from
racing in 1999. “I have always admired what Roger Penske has accomplished in
business and with his racing teams and it will be a thrill to work with Team
Penske and Marcos in 2015.”
Best o'luck, mate.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed watching Marcos on the road courses, especially Watkins Glenn, where he really showed how good he was driving a race car. Too bad he couldn't bring that success to the oval tracks but he is indeed a great driver. I wish him the best of luck.
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