Ford Falcon 2006 News

Previous Bathurst 1000 Winners 1963 Harry Firth/Bob Jane Ford Cortina GT 1964 Bob Jane/George Reynolds Ford Cortina GT 1965 Bo Seton/Midge Bosworth Ford Cortina GT500 1966 Rauno Aaltonen/Bob Holden Morris Mini Cooper S 1967 Harry Firth/Fred Gibson Ford Falcon XRGT 1968 Bruce McPhee/Barry Mulholland Holden Monaro GTS

Ford is adding more aggression to its future models and the Detroit car is a pointer to the potential in the 2008 Falcon."This car shows what you can do with a strong rear-wheel-drive architecture, like the Falcon," the executive director of Ford design in North America, Peter Horbury, says."It's tough. It makes a statement."That is exactly what Ford Australia will need when the next Falcon goes up against the VE Commodore.No one is suggesting the Interceptor will be copied by the design team at Ford Australia, which has already completed almost all the Falcon work, but the same influences could easily be at work at Campbellfield."In terms of presence, the Interceptor style would work for Australia," the design director at Ford-owned Jaguar, Ian Callum, says.Callum knows all about Australian tastes and home-grown muscle. He was the chief designer for Holden Special Vehicles before joining the British luxury brand and did some of the most outrageous body and wheel work seen on a Commodore.He believes the Interceptor is too extreme for production, but likes the influences."I see no reason why it could not work. It would certainly be a departure for Falcon," Callum says."I know the Australian car culture likes strong, brutal images. It's a pretty aggressive-looking car. It could work."It is more towards Australian taste than the a European design. I like it, by the way."The Interceptor has an oversized body with a small glasshouse and the same grille treatment used on last year's F-Series Super Chief concept.It has a very high beltline with a low roof to give it a heavy, functional look.LThe mechanical package under the Interceptor is surprisingly similar to the Falcon and comes from the Mustang, complete with a 5.0-litre V8 engine, six-speed manual gearbox and rear-wheel drive.It has been stretched to compete with the Chrysler 300, an American prestige sedan."Our customer target for this powerful, masculine sedan was a man with a family," Horbury says. "He's essentially a good guy, but a bit mischievous. He loves power and performance."Even so, Ford has given the Interceptor some green credentials with tuning that allows it to run on E-85 ethanol fuel.And it moves ahead on the safety front with Ford's patented four-point seatbelts, which it describes as a "belt-and-braces" approach.Other neat tweaks include headrests that fold down from the roof and four individual bucket seats trimmed in super-soft belt leather.

After a dramatic Middle East debut at the Bahrain International Circuit, Kelly has held onto a seven-point championship lead despite crashing in the second race.Before the crash he appeared to have one hand on the trophy with a 90 point buffer.Ford's Jason Bright emerged King of the Desert after an entertaining three days of racing, claiming his first individual round win at Ford Performance Racing, while Holden's Todd Kelly and Garth Tander completed the round podium.But while the battle up front was enthralling, all the focus was on former three-time series champion Lowndes and his pursuit of 23-year-old Kelly.The wheels appeared to fall off Kelly's title drive when James Courtney's Falcon blocked his path and he was ploughed into from behind, then banished to the rear of the grid for the final heat.With only a 14-point lead heading into the final race, Kelly was expected to end the round ranked second but the HSV Dealer driver produced one of the best drives of the year to burst through the field from 28th and finish fifth, maintaining a slender title lead.The result means Kelly now has 3068 points with Lowndes' fourth place for the round moving him to 3061 while Ford's Mark Winterbottom fell out of contention after gearbox drama today, back on 2792 points.Lowndes said the battle for the title now resembled his memorable and emotional Bathurst win in October when he and Kelly duelled all the way to the line.Lowndes turned dup the heat on Kelly by saying the youngster would cop all sorts of pressure over the coming weeks as Holden had not won the series title for four years."It all hinges on him," said Lowndes."I have been around long enough to not worry about (the pressure), whether Rick has I don't know."He has a strong car but we believe we can do it."We'll see what happens and see what the weather does."Kelly said he won't have any trouble coping with the pressure and anticipation of the finale, saying he had plenty of pressure to perform in today's final race and delivered in spades."I want it more than anything. I showed that with the way I drove in that last race," said Kelly."We know we can't just sail into the sunset and it won't be easy."He will be very difficult to beat down there. He was strong there last year but our car is very good this year."It is going to be a fair dinkum battle."Lowndes said a series win this year would be the best of his career and finally put the seal on his famous move to Ford in 2001 when he left Holden for a $1 million per season deal.Already this year Lowndes has delivered Ford a Bathurst win, their first in eight years, and another series crown would fit comfortably in his trophy cabinet."I think to win would be pretty memorable and one of the better (titles) I have won," he said."The whole reason I moved to Ford is to do what I hope to do at Phillip Island and win the championship."It has taken longer than I have wanted. But we have won Bathurst for the first time for Ford and now I hope I can do the same for the championship."AAP

Kelly, who has a narrow 73-point series lead, arrived yesterday with only time to grab some sleep before today's practice session. The actual races are tomorrow and Saturday.Both his main rivals, Craig Lowndes and Mark Winterbottom — and indeed most of the field — had arrived days earlier to acclimatise.As Kelly tried to get some rest yesterday after an 18-hour flight via Singapore, rival drivers were trying to sneak some experience at the new $33million track in the middle of the Bahrain desert.Many walked the 3.6km circuit earlier this week, and offered a variety of opinions.One, experienced Ford driver Brad Jones, reckoned the course designed for F1 racing would favour the leading V8 Supercar teams.Holdens Jason Richards disagreed, suggesting the opportunity was ripe for a surprise or two in the Top 10.The rugged Paul Morris promised a better show than the F1 for the Bahrain fans experiencing V8s for the first time and predicted some of the drivers who hadn't featured much all year would relish the chance to get stuck in at the Bahrain circuit.

Holden young gun Kelly assumed the lead of the V8 title race at the Tasmanian round earlier this month and heading into the penultimate round in the Middle East, the 23-year-old said he won't be resting on his 73-point lead over Ford champion Lowndes.Kelly said the fact HSV Dealer teammate Garth Tander, and older brother Todd Kelly, had already done a few laps around the Bahrain International Circuit as part of the Formula One grand prix earlier this year would put the Commodores at an advantage."One of the strong points of our team is how we get together and nut out a track," Kelly said."We have been doing our homework and Garth has given us some idea of what to expect."I reckon it will probably take the other drivers about two laps to get back on par with Garth and myself. That's how long it normally takes to dial in to a new track."The only real advantage that Garth and I might have is that we can word up our engineers on how to set the car up for the first session."Even though Kelly has yet to win a V8 round this season he said he won't risk the best shot of his short career at claiming the coveted series trophy in the selfish pursuit of a round win."We've just got to do what we've done all year - be consistent and make sure we don't do anything silly," he said."There are still 660-odd points up for grabs so it's a long way from the end."The championship remains our priority. Our second priority is to win the Manufacturer's Championship with the other Holden teams, and then the Teams' Championship for the Toll HSV Dealer Team."I'd like to think we can not just keep our championship lead, but extend it."Holdens dominated last year's first big offshore venture of the V8s, running in the top four places in Shanghai.But Tander, winner of the most recent round in Tasmania, said the Middle East is nothing like the Asian circuit although he still expects Commodore's to get the places sorted ahead of Ford."Bahrain should suit our cars better as it is more like a traditional circuit in several corners," he said.The Bahrain Desert 400 will have a practice session on Thursday.Qualifying, top 10 shootout and a 100km first race take place on Friday with two 140km races on Saturday.AAP

The Australian Grand Prix Corporation was deep in discussions with the organisers of the European GT3 Championship — contested by race versions of cars such as the Dodge Viper, Chevrolet Corvette, Porsche 911 and Lamborghini Gallardo — but the class will not race at the Australian Grand Prix in 2007.It is understood the bid to bring the GT3 racers to Australia was on track until late last week.Australian Grand Prix Corporation chief executive Tim Bamford said the company was involved in discussions with European GT3 series organiser Stephane Ratel."Up to the last minute we are considering options and making decisions, so the reality is there is lots of things that we think about," Bamford said.He said the fact the GT3 championship would not run at the Grand Prix did not detract from the event."I think that really it is a matter of making sure we have got the best possible package of entertainment and we are confident that with Formula One and four days of on-track action ... that is what we have got," he said.The main support races for the Grand Prix will include the Porsche Carrera Cup, Formula Three and the celebrity race, with Aussie Racers and V8 utes joining the line-up next year.Race organisers are keen to fill the void that will be left by the absence of the V8 Supercars, which will be missing from next year's Formula One festival for the first time.Many fans looked forward to the V8 Supercar races at Albert Park, even though the races did not carry championship points, because it was often the first chance to see the Ford and Holden race cars, with some drivers making their debuts for new teams at the track.Asked if having the V8 utes race at Albert Park would appeal to V8 fans, Bamford suggested the Formula Ones were already doing so."You know what, we have got V8s at the Grand Prix? We have the best, the loudest, the most exciting V8s in the world — Formula One," he said.Australian Mark Webber said the V8 Supercar class was a great category, but added the Grand Prix would draw a good crowd without it."The event is big enough and strong enough, it is an F1 event, that is the main drawcard," Webber said.While it is still unclear whether or not the loss of the V8 Supercars would hurt the Melbourne Grand Prix, it is worth noting the support card still outshines that of many Formula One races held overseas.

Lowndes was fined $15,000 yesterday for irate comments he made after twin penalties at the Indy meeting last month.He had seen a 101-point championship lead reduced to just 30 after Indy and responded unwisely to reporters' questions about the stewards' penalties.Lowndes left open the interpretation that the stewards' decisions had had the effect of ensuring a close finish in this year's championship.While he clarified his statements the next day, saying he never meant stewards were trying to manipulate the championship, he was charged with bringing the sport into disrepute.After an initial hearing last week before the sport's prosecuting officer, Peter Wollerman, Lowndes decided to fight the charge.However yesterday, with a further points penalty possible, Lowndes changed his mind and pleaded guilty.He repeated the clarification of his comments but this time the statement also came with a full-blown apology."I recognise some of the comments I made were inappropriate and I therefore apologise unreservedly to the stewards and officials for any offence I caused," he said.Of the total $15,000 fine, $5000 was suspended and with no points penalty Lowndes takes his lead into the Tasmanian round of the championship this weekend.The races at Launceston, ahead of the international round in Bahrain and the season-ending Phillip Island round, will decide this year's V8 Supercar champion.Lowndes' main rival is Holden driver Rick Kelly although Ford driver Mark Winterbottom also harbours some aspirations from third place.

Lowndes has every right to be under pressure after being asked to attend a stewards hearing at Tasmania's Symmons Plains just hours before the crucial next round starts at the track.The Gold Coast-based driver faces losing precious championship points or a hefty fine for post-race comments at the Gold Coast round last month.He has been accused of claiming Gold Coast officials deliberately conspired to reduce his lead over his rivals and so produce a closer finish to the series.And after having his championship lead chopped to just 30 points by Holden young gun Rick Kelly with three events left, Lowndes can ill afford to have any points deducted.But Lowndes today kept his eyes on the prize, opting to focus only on his race set-up for the Tasmanian round near Launceston which starts with a practice round on Friday.Lowndes said he would unveil a brand new Ford Falcon at the round that may just determine whether he breaks a 10-year drought and claims another Australian touring car crown.His teammate Jamie Whincup will take control of the Bathurst-winning Falcon.Lowndes said the new Falcon had a test day at Ipswich's Queensland Raceway last week - and he liked what he saw."The new car is very, very good and the team is delighted with the way it has come on," he said."I am extremely happy with the way the new car performed at last week's test day and I am looking forward to using it for the remainder of the championship."Lowndes is buoyed by the fact that he is a two-time champion at Symmons Plains but is wary of the tight course's perils."We have not yet had a wet race at Symmons Plains so things could certainly get interesting if we have rain," he said."It is also a track that is semi-difficult to pass on so team strategy and qualifying position will be the keys to getting a good result."After winning six of the 10 rounds to date, Ford can wrap up the manufacturer's title with victory at Tasmania.AAP

The Ford star's decision comes just two days before he is due to front an inquiry into remarks he made during the recent Surfers Paradise round of the championship.

Following the inquiry I attended last week with the IPO, Peter Wollerman, in Melbourne, I today advised that I have had time to reflect on the matter and have entered a plea of guilty to the charge of having brought the Sport into disrepute.I also wish to further clarify my position regarding the comments which I made to the media after race three at Surfers Paradise.I recognise that some of the comments that I made were inappropriate, and I therefore now apologise unreservedly to the Stewards and the Officials of the Meeting for any offence that I caused.I do not believe that the Stewards and Officials act in anything other than a manner that is fair, unbiased and in the best interests of the Sport and they have my complete support in their execution of a difficult and often thankless task.My comments were made in the heat of the moment, but I recognise that is no excuse.At no time have I believed that V8 Supercars or any of the Officials that assist us in our championship are trying to manipulate the outcome of the series and I am truly sorry if I have given any of them, or our fans, any other impression.The V8 Supercar Series is the best Touring Car Championship in the world, and I consider myself very fortunate to be able to compete within it.Without the unstinting work - on a voluntary basis - of the Stewards, plus the continuing efforts of V8 Supercars Australia and the Officials, we would not have the series we have today.