FORD TEAMS CREATE STRONG BOND THROUGH MUSTANG

DJR Team Penske Managing Director Ryan Story and Tickford Racing Co-Owner Rod Nash are confident of not only a race-winning car, but a strong partnership can emerge between the two teams as the development of the Mustang is spread over the two squads.

Though Storey failed to reveal the intricacies of the program, he did confirm that planning was well underway on how the work load was to be split between the two teams.

“We already have a fair understanding on how we will do the bulk of the work,” Story said.

“At the moment we are focusing on the fitting the dimensions and the exterior of the car. We’ve seen particularly in the, before Ludo joined us and Tickford in its previous guises has homologated, we’ve seen those two entities work together.

The infrastructure and personnel across the two squads has Story excited by the potential of the new Mustang.

“We have a fairly good understanding of the bulk of the job share so far and we’re not just going through the design things, but the manufacturing of the components when we get to that stage. We have great capabilities and competencies between both groups and we expect them to be utilised.”

Nash added that it was a great opportunity for both teams to create a united front and through this a stronger result on track. This new partnership has also seen the homologation responsibilities switch from Tickford to DJR Team Penske.

The homologation process has switched from Tickford to DJR Team Penske. Photo: LAT

“I think this a great example of a strong relationship, more so this homologation period is going to be quite different than the previous one,” Nash said. “You’ve got four stakeholders in this one so that makes it all a greater structure to deliver the right result at the end of the day.”

Story concurred, adding that Ford and Ford Performance were also committed to making the Mustang a success.

“The teams are working closely together to ensure that our vested interests are met.”

“We both want to produce the most competitive car that we can and in conjunction with the alliance we have with Ford and Ford Performance, and that’s what our aim is.”

DJR Team Penske’s lead engineer Ludo Lacroix will not have his day-to-day engineering job on Scott McLaughlin’s Falcon compromised by the Mustang’s development program with recent additions made to its engineering sector easing the load.

“He’ll be in charge of the broader philosophy of the design, but in terms of the heavy lifting and design, we’ve got quite an extensive list of engineers, who are home-based,” explained Story.

“[Chief Designer] Perry Kapper, who joined us this year, he’ll take a preeminent role in development and we’re confident we are adequately resourced to get this job done.”

Qualifying for Race 10 commences at 10:40am AEST.

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