March 27th, 2003
Ford
moves to clarify ownership of FPR
RESPONDING
to what they described as “some confusion amongst teams and media”,
Ford Motor Company of Australia and global motorsport and engineering
company Prodrive have issued a joint statement to confirm the ownership
position of the Ford Performance Racing team. Although
the statement makes no mention of what has triggered that
“confusion”, there is no doubt it was provoked by the continuing
controversy surrounding Holden’s purchase of the TWR operation. The statement points out that Ford
Performance Racing is 100% owned by Prodrive, and Ford Motor Company of
Australia has no equity in the team. Prodrive acquired Glenn Seton Racing
in January 2003 and, after negotiating a sponsorship arrangement with
the Ford Motor Company of Australia, it was decided to call the team
Ford Performance Racing. The statement goes on to say that
naming of the team is no different to any other sponsorship arrangement
in motor racing or for that matter sport in general. Ford Performance Vehicles is a joint
venture between the Ford Motor Company of Australia and Prodrive. The
make-up of this joint venture is 49% Ford Motor Company of Australia and
51% Prodrive.
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