Ford gears up to outgun Holden
Cynics could argue Ford needs all the help it can get in its bid to break Holden driver Jamie Whincup’s stranglehold on the V8 Supercars championship.
However, the Blue Oval’s flagship, Ford Performance Racing (FPR), is more than comfortable with its prospects almost a month before the 2013 championship begins.
There are plenty of question marks ahead of the new season as each team adheres to the ‘‘Car of the Century’’ specifications.
However, FPR bosses believe they are well prepared to ask a few questions of their own to Whincup’s Triple Eight Holden team after becoming the first V8 team to complete and test all three of their new cars.
‘‘We all knew what a big job it was going to be to get the new cars ready for this season but our entire team has been committed to the deadlines we set ourselves,’’ FPR team principal Tim Edward said.
‘‘While they were seen as ambitious by many, it’s been very pleasing to hit all our targets.
‘‘By having three cars on track in December, we gained a lot of information which allowed us to develop multiple areas of the car simultaneously. While this doesn’t guarantee success, it certainly helps us learn faster which should, hopefully, give us an edge on track.
‘‘There are a lot of unknowns this season for everyone but I believe the extra time we’ve given ourselves will allow us to be better prepared than our rivals.’’
The goal is to break the dominance of Whincup, who has won four V8 drivers’ championships.
And to boost its chances, FPR decided to expand to a four-pronged attack of top gun Mark Winterbottom and co-threat Will Davison, along with rising star David Reynolds and Alex Davison.
Edward said it was a case of the more the merrier for the FPR team this year.
‘‘The expansion to four cars has allowed the team to bolster its engineering lineup and having one more car than last year provides more data to aid development,’’ Edward said.
‘‘We’ve made a few subtle tweaks to the lineup to keep things fresh but, ultimately, when we all get together at the track or back at the factory, we have the same group working together.’’
FPR will hold its official 2013 launch in Melbourne on Thursday.