When Marcos Ambrose faced the media to confirm DJR Team Penske’s assault on the 2015 V8 Supercars Championship, there was a lot to discuss.

Here is what the 38-year-old Tasmanian had to say, including his thoughts on leaving NASCAR, taking on V8 Supercars benchmark Jamie Whincup and the allure of the Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000.

QUESTION: Marcos, after nine seasons competing in NASCAR, you’ll get a chance to return home in 2015 and race in a series where you won 28 races and two series titles in five seasons.

How great of an opportunity and challenge is this to come back to V8 Supercars and the legendary No. 17 Ford Falcon and race for two motorsports legends in Roger Penske and Dick Johnson?

MARCOS AMBROSE: It certainly is a great opportunity and it’s going to be a great personal challenge for me.

The point I want to get across, also, it’s an honor to be able to bring to Australian racing, be part of bringing Team Penske to Australian racing.

It’s going to be great for Australian motorsport. To drive the No. 17 for Dick Johnson Racing is also an incredible opportunity for me and a privilege. I’ve watched Dick race as a kid.

I’ve raced against his team, and now I get to drive with him, so the combination of DJR and Team Penske is an opportunity that is an incredible one for me personally.

It was a no brainer for me to come with the conversations I’ve had with Roger to take this opportunity and really run with it. I can’t wait to get home and get started.

It will be a challenge for me personally, there’s no doubt about that. It’s been nearly 10 years since I’ve driven a V8 Supercar.

I don’t take that challenge lightly. I know it’s going to take some time to get integrated back into the series with the way they like to race, with the rules they have in place, and also the technical aspect of these cars, but I know what I’ve done in the past, and I know what I’m capable of, and it’s not like I’ve been sitting around a beach.

I’ve been racing 36 NASCAR Sprint Cup races every season. I’ve had plenty of racing miles under my belt. I’m looking forward to the change. I’m looking forward to bringing my family back to Australia, and just can’t wait to get started.

QUESTION: When are you actually getting back to Australia and when do you expect to drive one of the cars for the first time?

AMBROSE: I have nine races left in the Sprint Cup Series for Richard Petty Motorsports. I intend to honor that, and so shortly after the last race at Homestead I’ll be planning to come back.

We have some opportunities to get behind the wheel of a V8 Supercar which is really what I’m thinking about the most these days for some media rides and corporate rides and things like that, so I do expect to come back in November, and then the big move with the family and so forth will take place at the end of December.

QUESTION: Are you going to be at Homebush (Sydney Olympic Park V8 Supercars season finale)?

AMBROSE: Yes.

QUESTION: And where are you going to live?

AMBROSE: I’m going to live in Tasmania, and I’ve kept my residence in South East Queensland that I’ve had when I was racing for Stone Brothers, so I’ll be using both houses to do the job, but I’m going to move the family and base ourselves in Launceston, Tasmania.

QUESTION: What will you miss most about NASCAR?

AMBROSE: I’ve got some incredibly fond memories of racing in the U.S., and there is no feeling like running a Sprint Cup car on a high speed oval.

It’s something that not many professional drivers get a chance to taste, and I will miss that. I will miss the sensation, the speed and the intensity of the racing, the amount of racing.

You know, that is why I came to America. I came to America because of the schedule, the amount of races, you know, of the toughness and the aggressiveness of the racing, and I’ll miss that, there’s no doubt about it.

But at the same time, V8 Supercar is an incredible series, and I’m certainly going to get plenty of competition down there, as well. I will miss the high speed racing that is NASCAR and just the general intensity of it and the size.

QUESTION: What was the moment you’ll remember most from your eight or nine years here?

AMBROSE: Certainly winning my first Sprint Cup race will go down as one of my highlights, but tonight to be honest with you ranks right up there, the opportunity to be sitting next to Roger Penske announcing a deal to return home.

If I look at my racing in America, to think that I was actually able to come to this point in my career, it’s an amazing thing. So I think tonight is a highlight.

QUESTION: Marcos, when we were speaking last month at Watkins Glen, I’m wondering if this deal, if it wasn’t with pen to paper, at least in your mind, was this a done deal, and if not then, when did you know you were going to be making the return?

AMBROSE: Well, the first question really is when was it time to stop in America, and I had come to that conclusion leading into the summer that the timing was right for me personally to return to Australia the end of this season for personal reasons – my family, my kids are six and eight.

I want them to enjoy and experience Australian life, as well, so when they grow up they can make their own choices in life where they want to be. I have one American that was born here and I have an Australian, Tabitha, who’s eight who has an Australian passport.

I think the timing for me personally was right. My career in NASCAR has flattened off, and I always said that when I felt like I wasn’t going to be able to either keep progressing or wasn’t going to be able to achieve what I came here to do, which was to win a championship, then I needed to look at my options, and that’s exactly what I’ve done.

At the same time in silhouette, I started talking to Tim and Roger somewhat loosely and said that if they intended and wanted to be part of Australian racing in the V8 Supercar Series that I would be honored to be a part of that and I’d like to be a part of that. So we’ve had a very open communication. We’ve also been making our own choices, and it’s been fairly recently that we’ve been able to put pen to paper and make it solid.

QUESTION: When you say that your career in NASCAR had flattened off, how much were you looking at maybe trying to get with a bigger team as an option perhaps as an alternative to going back to Australia?

AMBROSE: You look at all those factors, and I’ve achieved a lot in NASCAR, getting an opportunity to drive in the Sprint Cup Series for Richard Petty is incredible, but I felt like my opportunities were getting narrower, and certainly my results had flattened off. I mean, it’s just a fact of life.

I felt like it’s a good time for me to return the family to Australia. I’ve certainly scratched the itch of NASCAR, and I’m really proud of what I’ve achieved, but I’m happy to return to Australia and go to the next chapter in my racing career.

QUESTION: The fact is there are only two out of every 36 races a year that are on road courses. How eager are you just to get back to road courses?

AMBROSE: I’m really excited to go road racing again all the time. I certainly have a knack for it, and I enjoy it.

In going back to V8 Supercar series, it’s a really natural home for me. The cars are amazing vehicles. It’s one of the most competitive categories in the world, and I certainly don’t come back into V8 Supercar with any misconceptions about how tough it’s going to be to reintegrate and relearn what the series is and what the cars are.

That being said, road racing is my niche. It’s what I’m really good at, driving heavy race cars around road courses, and I’m looking forward to dedicating my entire seasons to it.

NASCAR: Is there any chance you would do a one-off in NASCAR?

AMBROSE: I haven’t thought about that, but to be honest with you, I’m just really, really excited to announce this and to look forward to putting my full commitment behind the V8 Supercar program for DJR Team Penske.

QUESTION: How closely have you been keeping tabs on what’s been happening here the last nine years when you haven’t been in V8 Supercars?

AMBROSE: Yeah, I’ve certainly kept abreast. I’ve got a few friends in the pit lane there so I always tend to see how they go.

The footage on SPEED TV for a couple years was great to be able to follow the series, but this year I’ve had to get some DVDs sent across of the telecast and so forth.

So I’ve watched intently since I knew that I was going to be doing this program in 2015. I’ve spent a lot of time and energy looking back at the series, looking at the drivers, the driving standards, the rules, and the interpretation of those on the track.

So I feel like I’ve got a really good handle on the current generation car, the current crop of drivers and the competitiveness, and the things that are happening during the race weekend.

As much as I can do from 14,000 miles away, I’m doing, but I’ve been keeping track of it over the years, but obviously the last six months or so with much more scrutiny and intensity.

QUESTION: Jamie Whincup is on his way to winning a sixth championship and he’s wrapped up the pole record since you’ve been gone. Can you be the man to take it to him because he’s looking pretty unbeatable at the moment?

AMBROSE: Well, the driver is just one element of that. I’m certainly not going to stand up here today and tell you I’m going to come home and dominate the world.

I’ve got a big challenge in front of me to get reintegrated into the series, to readapt my driving style to suit these cars, to change my style to suit the rules of the racing, the code of conduct on the track, but I’ve got a lot  of strength around me with Dick Johnson Racing and Team Penske putting their might behind this project.

It’s going to take us time, but we believe we’re in racing to win, and that’s what our intent will be.

QUESTION: What do you think of Jamie Whincup from what you’ve seen? Is it a scary prospect to think that you’re going to be coming against him and he’ll be your rival now?

AMBROSE: He’s got two arms and legs just like every other driver out there, but he has done an amazing job, and congratulations to him.

He certainly has an approach to his racing and his work, incredible talent behind the wheel, plus he’s got clearly a lot of dedication to his craft, and he also has the professionalism to get it done year in and year out.

You look at the series, he’s certainly up there top of the list of guys to compete against, but there’s more than just one, and I look at some of the footage I’ve watched this year, there are some amazing drivers down there, young drivers I have yet to race against, and I’m looking forward to competing against them all.

QUESTION: It seems as though you didn’t leave many stones unturned your first foray into V8 Supercars. Is there anything left to achieve for you? What do you hope this time around?

AMBROSE: Bathurst comes to mind.  I’ve yet to win the Bathurst 1000.  I’ve had five shots at it and have done an average job every go. That is certainly on the list, but I mean, the biggest thing for me, is returning to Australia.

I used to compete at the highest level with the calibre of team that we’re forming here and we’re talking about tonight, I’m super excited to be part of that and to achieve what we all hope.

That is what I’m after. I want to be able to bring, be part of bringing Team Penske to Australia with Dick Johnson Racing and get them back in the winner’s circle and get them back to where they want to be, which is the champion.

QUESTION: Obviously this was a long process from the Penske side to get this done. Was there any thought or a plan B for you if Team Penske didn’t go with V8 Supercar racing?

Were you still looking at racing here with a different team or taking a year off, or was there a plan B?

AMBROSE: A couple years ago before my last renewal with RPM I did consider coming back to the V8 Supercar series at that time and chose to stay in the U.S. for another two year contract.

This go around I was certainly going to stop racing in America at the end of 2014, and the only team that I would ever consider driving for after I had spoken to Roger would have been this deal. I would not have considered anything else.

QUESTION: You mentioned one of the big appeals for you in NASCAR was racing so often.  Obviously you said you want to win with this, but do you want to do other events while you’re here, do some sports car racing or whatever it is, because it seems like V8 Supercars aren’t big fans of our drivers compared to in other categories?

AMBROSE: Yeah, I see there’s some wrangling going on down there at the moment with the Bathurst 12 Hour event clashing with a test day.

To do this properly, my focus is completely on V8 Supercar for Team Penske and I don’t envisage doing anything other than that.

I think there’s plenty of effort, plenty of work required to get that job done right, and I’m very happy to be focused on that one thing.

QUESTION: You mentioned earlier that you had decided quite a while ago that this was going to be your last season in American racing. 

When did you first approach Richard (Petty) with that decision, briefly give us an idea of how the conversation went and I assume he’s been supportive of your decision?

AMBROSE: Yeah, Richard Petty Motorsports has been a fantastic team to work for and drive for, and we’ve been communicating about my future for some time.

Two years ago I re-signed with Richard Petty Motorsports, and we’d had the discussion then, and it was leading into this summer that I had come to the decision to stop at the end of this season.

They’ve been very supportive of that, and we’ve been working with them on that. Obviously I wanted to leave them in good hands and with a good future in their hands, and they have all that going for them.

They have a lot of momentum on their side with Aric making the Chase and winning races this year and I wish them the best success. I’ve been working with them.

They’ve been extremely good to me through the process of getting to this decision and as well as after. The press release on the weekend was really appreciated and very humbling to think that Richard includes me in his extended racing family, so that’s fantastic.

 

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