Penske confirms plans to keep Ford in V8s

While Ford Australia has almost finished its exit from the sport as a manufacturer, a process that will be competed at the end of the 2015 season, the arrival Penske in V8 Supercars this year has given fresh hope to fans of the Blue Oval.

As confirmed by Motorsport.com several weeks ago Roger Penske has been in talks with Ford in the US about reconsidering its future in V8 Supercars, with Ford Performance director Dave Pericak confirming the door is still open for Ford to continue as a proper manufacturer.

Now, the Penske outfit has confirmed it will continue running Ford products in V8 Supercars – with or without factory support.

“Ford has made a decision not to support,” Roger Penske told Motorsport.com.

“We don’t know what will happen, whether they’ll change their mind, you never know.

“We’re going to to continue to run Ford product, because there is a lot of fan support there.”

The news means there could be as many as six Fords on the grid in 2016 should DJR Team Penske expand to two cars, as is widely expected. That would also require Super Black Racing to find another Racing Entitlements Contract for the new season, and re-sign an agreement with Prodrive Racing Australia.

What does remain unknown is how this will shake out post-2016 when the Gen2 regulations are introduced. If Penske does indeed continue to run the Ford product, it will have the choice of sticking with the current FG X/V8 package, or potentially introducing EcoBoost engine technology and/or even a Mustang body shape to the sport.

Additional reporting by Lee Spencer