PENSKE OUT, TAKES MCLAUGHLIN WITH HIM, DJR REFORMED
Roger Penske out, Scott McLaughlin’s IndyCar future confirmed – Photo: InSyde Media
It’s official, Roger Penske has ended his six-year involvement in Supercars with Dick Johnson Racing and he’s signed star driver Scott McLaughlin to a full-time IndyCar campaign from 2021.
By BRUCE NEWTON
Both Team Penske and DJR issued press releases announcing the separation this morning.
It is understood Penske only came to a definitive decision about his withdrawal from Supercars this week and the deal negotiated with team managing director and co-owner Ryan Story was only signed off in the last couple of days. Team members were briefed by phone conference by Story and Penske this morning.
DJR did not announce who will drive for DJR in its 40th season, but Auto Action has it confirmed from multiple credible sources that Anton De Pasquale will join from Erebus Motorsport and Will Davison will return to the championship full-time to steer the team’s two Shell V-Power Ford Mustangs.
McLaughlin was confirmed as a 2021 Bathurst 1000 co-driver for DJR, but no mention was made of the fate of current DJRTP driver Fabian Coulthard, who scored DJRTP’s first pole in 2016 and win in 2017.
Nor was there any reference made to heavyweight engineer Ludo Lacroix, who’s future at DJR is yet to be confirmed.
Penske, who bought a majority 51 per cent stake of then struggling DJR in 2014 blamed the COVID-19 pandemic for the decision to pull out of Australian racing.
“Unfortunately, with the challenges we have faced in 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have had to readjust our business initiatives for 2021 and beyond,” Penske said.
“We want to thank Dick Johnson, Ryan Story, Fabian Coulthard and all of our team members for their hard work and dedication as we re-established a championship organization together over the last six years.
“I know that Dick, Ryan and the team will continue to build on that success moving forward.”
DJRTP was hugely successful, recording 56 race wins, 62 poles, three consecutive Supercars championship with McLaughlin, three teams’ championship and the 2019 Bathurst 1000 to challenge Triple Eight as Australia’s premier Supercars squad.
But Penske’s Australian experience wasn’t all sweetness and light.
There was the stuttering start with Marcos Ambrose, disappointment within Team Penske it could not build Supercars in the USA, the mistaken decision to run only a single car in the early days, the drop gear drama at The Bend in 2018 and the bitter battles over parity when the Mustang was launched in 2019.
Last year’s Bathurst 1000 safety car fracas and Mclaughlin’s qualifying engine irregularities ended the year sourly and there have been strong suggestions Penske seriously considered pulling the pin then.
McLaughlin, who remained a shining light for DJRTP in good days and bad, makes his IndyCar debut this weekend in St Petersburg Florida ahead of joining an expanded four-car Team Penske in 2021.
“I’m so excited for the opportunity to take the next step in my career and compete against some of the best drivers in the world in the IndyCar Series,” said McLaughlin.
“The last four years racing for DJR Team Penske has been amazing. I want to thank every single person on the team, and everyone that has helped me reach this point in my career. I wouldn’t be in position to continue to chase my dream without the hard work of so many people along the way.
“I’m looking forward to the challenge of joining one of the most iconic motorsports programs of all time – Team Penske’s IndyCar team. I wish the 2021 season would begin tomorrow.”
He departs Supercars with 56 wins and 76 poles scored for DJRTP and Garry Rogers Motorsport, the team he debuted with in 2013.
Dick Johnson said he was grateful to Penske for his involvement in DJRTP and the rejuvenation it had delivered and was bullish about the future.
“It has been an honour to partner with Roger Penske and everyone from Team Penske over these last six seasons, but we understand the challenges that everyone has faced worldwide in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic,” he said.
“We’re thankful that we were able to conclude our partnership with our third driver and team championships together this season. We want to thank Scott for his professionalism on and off the track. He is a generational talent and we are excited he will join us as a co-driver at next year’s Repco Bathurst 1000 in October.
“We know Scott is in a great position with Team Penske for the future and we wish him all the luck in the world as he begins his IndyCar career.
“The future is also very bright at DJR. We have truly amazing people in our team – the same people that have been the driving force behind the race wins and championships we have won over the past six years.
“We also have a fantastic and committed group of partners, who remain in lockstep with us for 2021 and beyond, and some of the most passionate and loyal fans in motor sport. With that kind of support and experience, we are ready to build on our success with the Shell V-Power Racing Team.”
While Johnson is the figurehead of the revamped team, Story is the engine room who brought this deal together when it became apparent Penske was wavering in his commitment to Supercars. While the new ownership structure of the team was not announced, Story is understood to be more heavily committed than ever.
In his quotes in the release he pointedly referenced DJR’s continued position as Ford’s homologation team headed into the Gen3 era and the preparation of a new Mustang for 2022.
At Bathurst last weekend, as rumours ran rife about the future of the squad, it had been suggested Tickford Racing might have to resume as the Ford homologation team for Gen3.
“We’re excited to return to the track next season and continue as Ford’s homologation team, working with Ford Performance on developing the Gen3 Mustangs for 2022,” Story said.
“We have been proud to work with Team Penske and represent the professionalism, ethics, effort and success of the Penske brand since 2015. We thank Roger Penske, (Team Penske president) Tim Cindric and everyone at Team Penske for their partnership, their friendship and their guidance.
“Together, we have built a championship team and cultivated an exceptional group of partners that engage on a business-to-business level that represents the very best of any sporting organization in Australia and New Zealand.
“DJR is in a great position to move forward and we are more energized than ever about the future of our team.”
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