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Ford could walk away from Supercars at the end of the 2024 season if the off-season testing fails to find true parity between the two Gen3 cars.
That’s the word from Ford’s local motorsport boss Ben Nightingale, who opened up on a tough season for the Blue Oval on the first episode of the KTM Summer Grill.
As it stands, Ford has contracts with its five teams – Dick Johnson Racing, Tickford Racing, Blanchard Racing Team, Grove Racing and Walkinshaw Andretti United – until the end of next season.
Its future beyond that, however, will depend on the ongoing off-season parity work in the US, which started with wind tunnel testing and will continue with transient dyno analysis.
“We’re supporting our teams and we’ve publicly stated this – we’re contracted until the end of 2024,” Nightingale told the KTM Summer Grill.
“Beyond that, it’s all to play for.
“So this off-season testing program is critically important, to ensure we start the [2024] season on a properly level playing field.
“We’ll back our teams any day of the week. They are some of the best organisations in the sport, some of the best drivers in the sport. If they’ve been given good equipment, we know they can win races.”
There has been plenty of speculation about Ford’s future in Supercars given the parity struggles this season, with multiple flashpoints during 2023 when an exit was flagged.
Nightingale admits that there were indeed times he feared Ford would pull the plug on its Supercars programme.
“I can’t lie, yeah,” he said.
“It’s one of those things for me personally, I’m a race fan. And I’ve grown up around Supercars. And this year’s Bathurst 1000 was my 25th Bathurst 1000.
“I love this sport. So, the thought of that potentially occurring has, yeah, it’s kept me up at night at times this year.
“The key thing I keep coming back to with Ford and motorsport globally is that we’re an organisation that has its deepest roots in motorsport. From the very beginning racing has been there.
“But having said that, nothing is guaranteed. And in a category like this, we have to always assess our options and always assess the [return on investment].
“And yeah, that week leading into Bathurst, that was a challenging week. And it’s those moments in time when you do go, ‘Is this worth it?’.
“And it’s not about me, it’s about the company, because for that decision, emotion will be put aside. Because it has to be a business decision.”
For more from Ben Nightingale watch the full episode of the KTM Summer Grill.
