V8s will survive: Tander
WA racer Garth Tander says the V8 Supercars series is not in terminal decline, despite describing Ford's decision to cut ties with the championship as a major disappointment.
Ford Australia confirmed the industry's worst fears yesterday in announcing it would pull out of V8 Supercars at the end of the 2015 season, ending one of Australian sport's most cherished rivalries with fellow manufacturer Holden.
The move prompted Holden Racing Team driver and 2007 championship winner Tander to lament the end of an era, saying the long-standing rivalry was one of the sport's original pillars.
Ford will provide support to teams racing Falcons next year before their funding for the championship ends, having cited the need to focus their attention on "great products and consumer experience".
"They've decided that the best way forward for their business is to choose to spend their money somewhere else," Tander said.
"Given that we derive our income from racing cars and V8 Supercars in particular, a big part of that has been the Ford versus Holden rivalry.
"But the market's changing, sport is changing, the business is changing and what used to work in the 70s, 80s, 90s and early 2000s might not necessarily work today going into the future.
"The sport can be bigger than one brand. We've seen with Nissan coming in and Volvo coming in, and the privately funded Mercedes deal, that I don't think it is the start of a decline.
"But it's still disappointing that one of the real pillars that our sport was built on is gone."
Tander grew up watching the traditional Holden versus Ford tussles when Dick Johnson and Peter Brock were in their prime.
He said the loss of the Ford brand would be felt most at Bathurst where the red versus blue rivalry was intense and resembled a "tribal ground". But he said the championship would survive by evolving further into a "clash of the personalities" rather than a battle of brands.
"That's where our sport is probably headed more towards now," Tander said.
The decision leaves Bathurst champions Ford Performance Racing without a major sponsor beyond next year.
Six Ford Falcons will contest the 2015 season.
Johnson, three times a Bathurst winner, predicted fans would boycott the sport. They took to social media to scream blue murder about the decision.
"It would be a disaster for the sport," he said. "From our point of view we need them here."
V8 Supercars boss James Warburton said he hoped to welcome Ford back in the future.
"We are disappointed for the fans who have so passionately supported the brand for so many years and disappointed for the team, drivers and other partners who have worked so hard for the Ford brand," Warburton said.
"The good news for our fans is that there will still be six Falcons on the grid in 2015.
"With many of our teams being privateers, with no factory support, we are confident that there will be Fords on the grid in 2016 and beyond."
"The sport can be bigger than one brand … I don't think it is the start of a decline."" *Garth Tander *
