License stalls FPR

Everything is ready at the blue oval factory team for a three-car assault on next year's touring car championship, but not until the final crucial piece of paper is in the safe.

FPV is competing with several others - Walkinshaw Racing and Paul Cruickshank both want to grow their teams next year - for two remaining license. And each has a pricetage in the $1.3 to $1.5 million range.

"It's a bit of a struggle at the moment. The real issue is the license," says FPR's director of business operations, Mark Roworth.

FPR is looking cashed-up and competitive after the re-signing of Orrcon and Castrol, which both have long-term deals with the team, and the arrival of Westrac Cat to take a place on both the Mark Winterbottom and Steven Richards' Falcons.

Roworth believes he has the support to expand to a third car and is likely to be choosing between Andrew Thompson, Dale Wood and Jonathon Webb as the driver.

But he stresses that a three-car team is more than just a money-making move.

"It comes down to the reason we want to run a third car. It has got to be strategic," he says.

"We want to find the next Mark Winterbottom. We need a succession plan for our existing drivers.

"There is no plan to get rid of them, and they both have long-term contracts, but you never know what is going to happen. It is far cheaper to develop a driver than it is to buy one."

FPR has already run more than its own two Falcons from its base in Broadmeadows, with both Team Kiwi and Jim Morton's Ford Rising Stars operation taking their on-track hardware from the team.

Ironically, Morton's decision to quit V8 Supercars has hurt FPR as he sold his license to Marcus Marshall, who is establishing a new team for '09 with a major internet company paying the bills.

"That's a bit disappointing. If we had known that Jim Morton was getting out we probably would have moved to get the license," Roworth says.

But he stresses that FPR is not just planning to run a third car to boost the money it makes from Orrcon, Castrol and the rest of its backers.

"The key thing is to ensure the third car is not just a revenue stream, but complements the other two," Roworth says.

"That sets us apart from some other people, perhaps like the Walkinshaw operation.