It's official - Gardner to drive a Factory Ford at Bathurst
7/6/2000 14:04 (Jason Whittaker) - After much speculation, No. 1 endurance driver draft pick, Wayne Gardner, will join the Factory Ford operation for another assault on Mt Panorama.
Gardner will team with three-times Australian Rally Champion Neal Bates in the Ford-Tickford Racing second AU Falcon. Shell Series campaigners, Glenn Seton and Neil Crompton, will spearhead the Blue Oval brigade challenge in the team’s lead car.
“I’ve been looking at my options over the past few months, and it has taken a while to make this decision. I’m really looking forward to getting in the Ford now and going for it,” the former 500cc Motorcycle champion said.
The FTR deal was one of four Gardner had been considering, with Dick Johnson, Brad Jones and the Stone Brothers all approaching Gardner for an endurance race drive.
“It was a really difficult decision, but FTR are looking really strong now, and it’s always good to be with a factory backed team,” Gardner said.
“It will be an interesting change moving from the Holden Commodore to a Ford. I’m really looking forward to the challenge and have wondered all these years what it would be like to drive the Ford,” he said.
While running his own Coca Cola-backed Holden operation, Gardner finished on the Bathurst podium twice, in 1993 and 1995, both with current FTR driver Neil Crompton.
Gardner sold his Supercar outfit last year, but said he would return to the category for a Bathurst assault with another team this year.
The 40-year-old “Wollongong Wizz” currently resides in Monaco and is competing in the All-Japan Grand Touring Car Championship, driving a Factory Toyota Supra.
Racing commitments in Japan will keep Gardner from competing in the Queensland 500 in September. A fifth FTR squad member is yet to be named.
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