{"id":4129,"date":"2018-04-17T08:50:00","date_gmt":"2018-04-17T12:50:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/?p=4129"},"modified":"2018-04-17T08:50:00","modified_gmt":"2018-04-17T12:50:00","slug":"v8-supercars-ford-mustang-confirmed-to-race-in-2019-championship","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2018\/04\/17\/v8-supercars-ford-mustang-confirmed-to-race-in-2019-championship\/","title":{"rendered":"V8 Supercars &#8211; Ford Mustang confirmed to race in 2019 Championship"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The well known &#8216;Pony&#8217; will be running in Australia again, with news from <strong>Ford Performance Racing<\/strong>\u00a0that the\u00a0<strong>Ford Mustang<\/strong> has been confirmed to race in the 2019 Supercars Championship.<\/p>\n<h1>Ford Mustang confirmed to race in 2019 Championship<\/h1>\n<p>News that is welcomed by both fans of the <em>Blue Oval<\/em>, but also by some who can recall the efforts of Ford drivers of the past, who &#8216;ran the Pony&#8217; around circuits like<em> Bathurst<\/em>. That includes <strong>Dick Johnson<\/strong>; team principal of <strong>DJR Team Penske Racing<\/strong>. His team have been committed to running the Ford Mustang, and to bring the iconic brand back to the V8 Supercars grid.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Blue Oval returning to Supercars with Mustang in 2019. <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/VASC?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#VASC<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u27a1\ufe0f<a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/ab0BW5JZhZ\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">https:\/\/t.co\/ab0BW5JZhZ<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/xFzfqgtUWs\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/xFzfqgtUWs<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Supercars (@supercars) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/supercars\/status\/986050486137753600?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">April 17, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<h2>Ford Mustang Confirms Return<\/h2>\n<p>Ford has confirmed its return to active involvement in the championship, alongside the launch of its &#8216;Ford Performance brand&#8217; in Australia. Ford Performance Racing was once a key manufacturer in the V8 Supercars, until Ford Australia decided to withdraw from the championship in 2014. That left teams scrambling to carry on the <strong>Falcon<\/strong> design; but only in namesake.<\/p>\n<p>Teams like DJR Racing [now DJR Team Penske] and ProDrive Racing [now <strong>Tickford Racing<\/strong>] continued to run with the Falcon architecture, but with a Ford power plant heavily designed in-house. While they have had success since Ford Performance Racing (FPR) withdrew, the interest from Ford Performance in the United States, soon brought renewed interest from the Australian arm.<\/p>\n<h2>Car of the Future<\/h2>\n<p>That interest coincided with the changes to the &#8216;Car of the Future&#8217; design rules. Under the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.supercars.com\/championship\/rules-and-cars\/gen2-supercars\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Gen2<\/a> (second generation) rules, that encourage manufacturers to look at packages that stay within the V8 Supercars guidelines &#8211; yet can introduce innovative design. So with Ford Performance in talks with teams, the Australian arm promoted the perfect combination; the Ford Mustang and a Ford V8 power plant.<\/p>\n<p>The current guidelines for the \u2018Car of the Future\u2019 chassis and specified control components:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Front engine<\/li>\n<li>Rear wheel drive<\/li>\n<li>Right hand drive<\/li>\n<li>Four seats<\/li>\n<li>Must accurately reflect the look of the road car.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>All cars are subject to aero and parity rules. This is the next step for DJR Team Penske and Tickford Racing in their 2019 development process.<\/p>\n<h3>V8 Muscle will continue to &#8216;drive&#8217; the rear wheels of the Ford Mustang<\/h3>\n<p>What would a Mustang be, without the familiar V8 unit? That was the question asked by Ford executives and teams, before this weeks final decision was made public. This is due to the discussion of <strong>Holden<\/strong> race teams, in the introduction of a high-output V6 power plant.<\/p>\n<p><em>\u201cWe had long discussions about powertrain and first and foremost we needed to be competitive,\u201d<\/em> <strong>Ford Australia<\/strong> boss <strong>Graeme Whickman<\/strong> told <a href=\"http:\/\/www.supercars.com\/news\/championship\/why-mustang-supercar-will-race-with-v8-power\/?sf187119838=1\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><em>Supercars.com<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u201cWe chose to go with the V8 as we re-enter [the Championship].&#8221;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Ford Performance in United States providing &quot;grunt work&quot; for Supercars Mustang development. <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/VASC?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#VASC<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u27a1\ufe0f <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/rUpqqGl0HI\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">https:\/\/t.co\/rUpqqGl0HI<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/XOyrZw8VPj\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/XOyrZw8VPj<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Supercars (@supercars) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/supercars\/status\/986085189418876928?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">April 17, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><em>\u201cWe felt it was a natural fit for Mustang. When you could sit there as a <\/em>race<em> enthusiast and as a car person you think \u2018what are my options\u2019 and given the change in Supercars\u2019 view on what could go on the track, it could have been a Ford Focus; for example.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>\u201cBut the Mustang was the right fit and that\u2019s why we were always aiming towards that. We did the assessment and we decided Mustang was the right one.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<h2>Dick Johnson has fond memories of Ford Mustang<\/h2>\n<p>One man still currently active in the Virgin Australia V8 Supercars Championship, is the team owner of 2017 Manufacturers championship winner, Dick Johnson. He was one of the few drivers to <a href=\"http:\/\/www.supercars.com\/news\/championship\/saturday-sleuthing-dick-s-greens-tuf-mustang\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">successfully campaign a Ford Mustang<\/a>, back in the &#8216;Group A&#8217; category days.<\/p>\n<p>In 1985, in the period before he and his team mate <strong>John Bowe<\/strong> enjoyed considerable success with the <strong>Ford Cosworth Sierra<\/strong>, Johnson imported a pair of\u00a0Zakspeed-built Mustangs from <em>Germany.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/BUyM-xqG8M8?rel=0\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>While that was over 30 years ago, the other team principal, <strong>Roger Penske<\/strong> is much more familiar with both the Ford Mustang and the Ford Performance unit. And that relationship and &#8216;intellectual property&#8217; that was likely a contributing factor to the <strong>Shell V-Power Team<\/strong> deciding on the synergy of their implementation of the Mustang model.<\/p>\n<p>It has the fantastic benefits of being a widely recognizable car. One which should be widely embraced by both Ford, and race fans in Australia.<\/p>\n<h2>Welcome Return<\/h2>\n<p><em>\u201cHaving Ford back on the Supercars grid and with its iconic Mustang is going to be brilliant for the whole sport,\u201d<\/em> <strong>Rod Nash<\/strong> from Tickford Racing said.\u00a0<em>\u201cWe welcome the Ford Mustang to Supercars, and it\u2019s fantastic that Ford, and its Ford Performance division, see the Supercars Championship as a great competitive environment and to be involved in.&#8221;<\/em><\/p>\n<h4><em>Follow the action and news from the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonmotorsport.com\/category\/v8-supercars\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">2018 Virgin Australia Supercars Championship<\/a> here on Last Word on Motorsports.<\/em><\/h4>\n<p><strong>MAIN PHOTO:<\/strong><br \/>\n<a id=\"ZCr2PznVRnFwS6YMB0TyGw\" class=\"gie-single\" href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.in\/detail\/682405384\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"color:#a7a7a7;text-decoration:none;font-weight:normal !important;border:none;display:inline-block;\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Embed from Getty Images<\/a><script>window.gie=window.gie||function(c){(gie.q=gie.q||[]).push(c)};gie(function(){gie.widgets.load({id:'ZCr2PznVRnFwS6YMB0TyGw',sig:'E4topuKusIrVMPqZ6rUu97t7j_8rwfrxR7_baGRUlU4=',w:'594px',h:'390px',items:'682405384',caption: true ,tld:'in',is360: false })});<\/script><script src='\/\/embed-cdn.gettyimages.com\/widgets.js' charset='utf-8' async><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The well known &#8216;Pony&#8217; will be running in Australia again, with news from Ford Performance Racing\u00a0that the\u00a0Ford Mustang has been confirmed to race in the 2019 Supercars Championship. Ford Mustang confirmed to race in 2019 Championship News that is welcomed by both fans of the Blue Oval, but also by some who can recall the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1383,"featured_media":4143,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"767","footnotes":""},"categories":[2,3,215,865],"tags":[889,498,886,887,813,888,211],"class_list":["post-4129","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-news","category-touring-car","category-v8-supercars","tag-dick-johnson","tag-djr-team-penske","tag-ford-mustang","tag-ford-performance-racing","tag-roger-penske","tag-tickford-racing","tag-v8-supercars"],"modified_by":"Sudha Sundar","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4129","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1383"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4129"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4129\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4143"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4129"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4129"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4129"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}