Ford Performance Racing

Ford Performance Racing (FPR) is one of the premier motorsport teams contesting the V8 Supercar Championship Series. The team currently campaigns two BF Falcon racecars, driven by Steven Richards and Mark Winterbottom. FPR is considered Ford's factory team.

History

Prodrive took over Glenn Seton Racing in 2003, and renamed it Ford Performance Racing as part of a marketing push to link FPV's road cars to the popular V8 Supercars. Along with this renaming came a huge expansion programme - the team expanded from just one car driven by Glenn Seton to three - Seton, Craig Lowndes and David Besnard. The team moved into a new headquarters in adjacent to the FPV plant in Melbourne, and the crew expanded as well.

The team's early years were a disappointment to say the least, given the fact the team was one of the richest in V8 Supercars. Lowndes had his moments in 2003, including a round win at Phillip Island (which was somewhat of a fluke), and a second place finish at Bathurst driving with Seton. Lowndes finished the year 5th in the championship, with Seton and Besnard well down the order.

2004 saw the team downsize to two cars - Besnard forced to leave due to the impracticality of preparing three cars at the same time. Lowndes and Seton both had disappointing years, plagued by engine dramas, a lack of test days, and a lack of comparable data (their cars were built to different specifications). While the pair did start to find some pace at the end of the year (they finished 2nd at Bathurst again), they both decided to move at the end of the year - Lowndes to Triple Eight Race Engineering and Seton to Dick Johnson Racing.

Jason Bright and Greg Ritter replaced them for the 2005 season. Bright had a consistent year, and finished inside the Top-10, while Ritter was disappointing - David Brabham replaced him for the final rounds.

2006 saw FPR become what it always set out to be - the pace setter. Mark Winterbottom joined the team while Bright stayed on. Bright scored multiple front-row starts, including three pole positions. He won the inaugural round in Bahrain, and came 6th in the championship. Winterbottom enjoyed a very consistent run to finish third in the championship. The pair won the Sandown 500 enduro together. FPR came 2nd in the Team's Championship behind the Toll HSV Dealer Team.

Bright left FPR at the end of the 2006 season to drive for his own Britek Motorsport outfit. Steven Richards has replaced Jason Bright.

External links

* [http://www.fpr.com.au/ Ford Performance Racing Official Website]
* [http://www.v8supercars.com.au/ V8 Supercars Official Website]
* [http://www.fpr.com.au/news/press-releases/document.aspx?ID=3624 Richards replacing Bright]