Prodrive Racing Australia
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| Manufacturer | Ford |
|---|---|
| Team Principal | Rusty French Rod Nash |
| Team Manager | Tim Edwards |
| Race Drivers | 5. Mark Winterbottom 6. Cameron Waters 55. Chaz Mostert 56. Jason Bright |
| Chassis | Ford FG X Falcon |
| Debut | 2003 |
| Drivers' Championships | 1 (2015) |
| Round wins | 29 |
| Race wins | 61 |
| Pole positions | 59 |
| 2016 position | 4th (3,962 points) |
Prodrive Racing Australia (formerly known as Ford Performance Racing) is an Australian motor racing team which competes in the Supercars Championship. The team currently campaigns two Ford FG X Falcons, driven by Mark Winterbottom and Cameron Waters, and prepares two customer FG X Falcons for Rod Nash Racing and Britek Motorsport (which will replace Super Black Racing in 2017). Winterbottom won the 2015 championship driving for the team.
In early 2003, Prodrive purchased Glenn Seton Racing, and renamed it Ford Performance Racing as part of a marketing push to link the Prodrive-owned Ford Performance Vehicles road car range to the popular V8 Supercars. Along with this renaming came a huge expansion programme – the team expanded from one car driven by Glenn Seton to three; Seton, Craig Lowndes and David Besnard. The team moved into a new headquarters adjacent to the FPV factory in Campbellfield, Melbourne, and the crew expanded as well. The third car was entered using Rod Nash Racing's Racing Entitlement Contract (REC). While other teams such had received major Ford support in the years since, it became the first official Ford factory team since the Ford Works Team of 1962 to 1973.
The team's early years were somewhat disappointing, given the fact the team was one of the best funded in V8 Supercars. Lowndes had his moments in 2003, including a round win at Phillip Island, and a second-place finish at Bathurst driving with Seton. Lowndes finished the year 5th in the championship, with Seton and Besnard well down the order. In 2004, the team downsized to two cars. Lowndes and Seton both had disappointing years, plagued by engine dramas, a lack of test days, and a lack of comparable data (their cars were built to different specifications). While the pair did start to find some pace at the end of the year (they finished second at Bathurst again), they both decided to move at the end of the year – Lowndes to Triple Eight Race Engineering and Seton to Dick Johnson Racing.
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