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FPR IS PROUD TO BE BLUE
Tuesday 08/09/2009 15:30
Author: Briar Gunther | Source: BigPond Sport - copyright
Castrol will end its association with Ford Performance Racing (FPR) at the end of 2009 but Steve Richards will stay with the team.
FPR Director of Business Operations, Mark Roworth, confirmed the oil company would part ways with the team at the end of this year.
Castrol has sponsored FPR since the factory Ford team debuted in V8 Supercars in 2003 and Steve Richards? #6 Falcon is known as the Castrol FPR Falcon.
Roworth said it was up to Castrol to elaborate why it would not continue sponsoring the team.
?All I can say is that we were surprised and disappointed about their decision but there is no ill feeling,? he said.
?FPR has been pursuing new sponsors since early this year and is in advanced negotiations with several.?
Castrol advised BigPond Sport that the only two people in the company who could comment were in Singapore until next week and were not contactable until then.
Roworth confirmed that Richards, who has had a long association with Castrol, will stay with FPR.
?Steve Richards is in no way linked to any contractual situation with Castrol and will be driving for FPR in 2010,? he said.
It has been speculated that Castrol ended its sponsorship with FPR because of Ford?s ?blue car policy?, which did not allow Castrol?s corporate colours of green, red and white to completely make up the livery of Richo?s Falcon.
The blue car policy was alleged to have been a main factor in why the 2008 Champions, TeamVodafone, lost its Ford funding at the end of last year.
But even without the directive, Roworth said the FPR Falcons would still be predominantly blue.
?FPR is proud to be blue,? he said.
?We're the Ford factory team and, regardless of Ford policy, we would want to recognise our heritage and align ourselves to the right side of the historic blue versus red battle within V8s.?
Castrol is understood to be in discussions with a number of Holden teams for 2010, with a computer design for TeamVodafone?s VE Commodore showing minor Castrol signage on both the mirror and the bottom of the windscreen.
FPR lost Ford Credit sponsorship at the start of this year due to the global financial crisis but picked up consumer electronics company TEAC Australia and WesTrac CAT.
The team will officially launch its enduro livery tomorrow (Wednesday) evening, but has already made computer generated images available to the media.
FPR?s endurance liveries feature Castrol on one side of the car and fellow major sponsor, Orrcon, down the other.
Tuesday 08/09/2009 15:30
Author: Briar Gunther | Source: BigPond Sport - copyright
Castrol will end its association with Ford Performance Racing (FPR) at the end of 2009 but Steve Richards will stay with the team.
FPR Director of Business Operations, Mark Roworth, confirmed the oil company would part ways with the team at the end of this year.
Castrol has sponsored FPR since the factory Ford team debuted in V8 Supercars in 2003 and Steve Richards? #6 Falcon is known as the Castrol FPR Falcon.
Roworth said it was up to Castrol to elaborate why it would not continue sponsoring the team.
?All I can say is that we were surprised and disappointed about their decision but there is no ill feeling,? he said.
?FPR has been pursuing new sponsors since early this year and is in advanced negotiations with several.?
Castrol advised BigPond Sport that the only two people in the company who could comment were in Singapore until next week and were not contactable until then.
Roworth confirmed that Richards, who has had a long association with Castrol, will stay with FPR.
?Steve Richards is in no way linked to any contractual situation with Castrol and will be driving for FPR in 2010,? he said.
It has been speculated that Castrol ended its sponsorship with FPR because of Ford?s ?blue car policy?, which did not allow Castrol?s corporate colours of green, red and white to completely make up the livery of Richo?s Falcon.
The blue car policy was alleged to have been a main factor in why the 2008 Champions, TeamVodafone, lost its Ford funding at the end of last year.
But even without the directive, Roworth said the FPR Falcons would still be predominantly blue.
?FPR is proud to be blue,? he said.
?We're the Ford factory team and, regardless of Ford policy, we would want to recognise our heritage and align ourselves to the right side of the historic blue versus red battle within V8s.?
Castrol is understood to be in discussions with a number of Holden teams for 2010, with a computer design for TeamVodafone?s VE Commodore showing minor Castrol signage on both the mirror and the bottom of the windscreen.
FPR lost Ford Credit sponsorship at the start of this year due to the global financial crisis but picked up consumer electronics company TEAC Australia and WesTrac CAT.
The team will officially launch its enduro livery tomorrow (Wednesday) evening, but has already made computer generated images available to the media.
FPR?s endurance liveries feature Castrol on one side of the car and fellow major sponsor, Orrcon, down the other.
