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Ford has not enjoyed victory at Mount Panorama since 1998 and despite three of its most successful seasons in Australian V8 Supercar racing, winning the 'Great Race' has eluded the Blue Oval.
Last year Ford came agonisingly close with every place from second through to seventh. This year it brings a line-up of seven officially supported teams with 28 drivers covering 209 starts at Mount Panorama.
The most experienced duo will be Brad Jones and John Bowe who both have 20 starts each, while the most experienced individual driver is Glenn Seton with 21 starts.
If there had to be a sentimental Ford favourite it would be Seton. The two-time V8 Supercar champion has never won at Bathurst. He has however finished second on three occasions, including twice over the last two years. This year also marks the 40th anniversary since his father Bo (Barry) Seton won aboard a Ford Cortina GT500. Ten years ago Glenn Seton came within 9 laps of winning the 'Great Race' when engine dramas ended his run. This year he's aboard Dick Johnson's Westpoint Racing #18 Falcon with Dean Canto.
"There's been a lot of Ford attention given to the likes of Marcos Ambrose, Russell Ingall and clearly right now Craig Lowndes has a lot of momentum. That's OK; we'll go about our business and let them take the spotlight. However, I won't be disappointed to take the headlines come Sunday afternoon. said Seton.
"Bathurst is the single most important race for us as drivers. It remains one of Australia's greatest sporting events and like an AFL or NRL Grand Final, Melbourne Cup horse race or even the Sydney to Hobart Yacht race; people across the country really take notice of the race at Bathurst.
When it comes to a team that is always in the hunt at Bathurst it's the Brad Jones / John Bowe duo of Team BOC. Bowe has won Bathurst twice in 1989 and '94 with Dick Johnson. For Jones it's been as close as you can get without taking the title, finishing second and third on three separate occasions. In recent years Jones has finished second with John Cleland in 2001 and third last year with Bowe.
"Bathurst is why we race," said Jones.
"You can win championships, but winning that race is tougher; believe me!
The focus on team work will be fully evident at Bathurst. Teams will have to make multiple pit stops, including driver changes, fuel, tyres and a compulsory brake pad change. Making the right call on when to stop will be critical to winning the race. All teams hit the track from Thursday 6 October for practice. Friday includes practice and qualifying, with Saturday including another practice session and top-10 shootout. Sunday's 161-lap race starts at 10am.
Details for Bathurst:
Top-10 Shootout - Saturday 8 October 3.40pm
Race (161 laps 1000.293km) Sunday 9 October 10am
Circuit: Mount Panorama Bathurst (New South Wales)
Length: 6.213km
Fords V8 Line-up for Bathurst
| #1 | Marcos Ambrose (Tas) / Warren Luff (NSW) | Pirtek Racing | |
| #9 | Russell Ingall (SA) / Luke Youlden (Vic) | Caltex Racing | |
| #5 | Greg Ritter (Vic) / Cameron McLean (Qld) | Ford Credit/FPV Ford Performance Racing | |
| #6 | Jason Bright (Vic) / David Brabham (Eng) | CAT Ford Performance Racing | |
| #10 | Matt Halliday (NZ) / Alain Menu (Swi) | Orrcon Steel Racing | |
| #20 | Jason Bargwanna (NSW) / Mark Winterbottom (NSW) | Orrcon Steel Racing | |
| #12 | John Bowe (Tas) / Brad Jones (NSW) | Team BOC | |
| #21 | John Cleland (Sco) / Dale Brede (ACT) | Team BOC | |
| #17 | Steve Johnson (Qld) / Will Davison (Vic) | Westpoint Racing | |
| #18 | Glenn Seton (NSW) / Dean Canto (NSW) | Westpoint Racing | |
| #25 | Steve Owen (Vic) / Matthew White (Vic) | Fujitsu Racing | |
| #52 | Jose Fernandez (NSW) / Damien White (NSW) | Fujitsu Racing | |
| #88 | Steve Ellery (Vic) / Adam Macrow (Vic) | Team Betta Electrical | |
| #888 | Craig Lowndes (Vic) / Yvan Muller (Fra) | Team Betta Electrical |
Championship Standings after 9 of 13 rounds
| 1. Marcos Ambrose | Pirtek Racing | Ford Falcon BA | 1486pts |
| 2. Russell Ingall | Caltex Racing | Ford Falcon BA | 78pts |
| 3. Steven Richards | Castrol Perkins Motorsport | Holden Commodore | 119pts |
| 4. Craig Lowndes | Team Betta Electrical | Ford Falcon BA | 225pts |
| 5. Todd Kelly | Holden Racing Team | Holden Commodore | 233pts |
| 6. Mark Skaife | Holden Racing Team | Holden Commodore | 284pts |
| 7. Garth Tander | SV Dealer Team | Holden Commodore | -342pts |
| 8. Jason Bright | CAT Ford Performance Racing | Ford Falcon BA | -390pts |
| 9. Steven Johnson | Westpoint Racing | Ford Falcon BA | 444pts |
| 10. Glenn Seton | Westpoint Racing | Ford Falcon BA | -448pts |
BACK
Steve Owen Fujitsu Racing
Jose Fernandez - Fujitsu Racing
Matthew White - Fujitsu Racing
Damien White - Fujitsu Racing
John Bowe Team BOC
Brad Jones Team BOC
Dale Brede Team BOC
John Cleland Team BOC
MIDDLE
David Brabham CAT Ford Performance Racing
Cameron McLean Ford Credit / FPV Ford Performance Racing
Yvan Muller Team Betta Electrical
Adam Macrow Team Betta Electrical
Luke Youlden Caltex Racing
Warren Luff Pirtek Racing
Alain Menu Orrcon Steel Racing
Matt Halliday Orrcon Steel Racing
Dean Canto Westpoint Racing
Will Davison Westpoint Racing
FRONT
Jason Bright CAT Ford Performance Racing
Greg Ritter Ford Credit / FPV Ford Performance Racing
Craig Lowndes Team Betta Electrical
Steve Ellery Team Betta Electrical
Russell Ingall Caltex Racing
Marcos Ambrose Pirtek Racing
Jason Bargwanna Orrcon Steel Racing
Mark Winterbottom Orrcon Steel Racing
Glenn Seton Westpoint Racing
Steven Johnson Westpoint Racing