A FRUSTRATING year for Ford in the Supercars Championship has ended with the company’s global CEO, Jim Farley, giving the Gen3 Mustang his personal seal of approval.
The American drove Cam Waters’ Tickford Racing Mustang – still wearing the Ken Block tribute livery it sported in Adelaide – during a promotional day at Calder Park on Tuesday.
All five Ford Supercars teams were represented at the circuit, where Chaz Mostert also took passengers for hot laps in the #25 Walkinshaw Andretti United Mustang.
“It’s a great race car, so much more fun than the modern race cars I’ve driven,” beamed Farley in a Ford video, moments after stepping from the Mustang. “That is all about the driver.”
Farley is an enthusiastic racer himself and is not a complete novice when it comes to Supercars machinery, having previously sampled a DJR Team Penske Gen2 car in America.
“He did awesome,” said Waters of Farley, having sat alongside him in the passenger seat before taking the Blue Oval boss for a hotlap.
“It blew me away how good he was behind the wheel, he picked it up so quickly. He’s obviously done a lot of racing himself.
“After the first lap I wasn’t worried at all. I actually enjoyed being beside him and watching him creep up on it. (He) had a few moments, which he had sorted.”
Farley’s trip to Australia included visiting the F-150 re-manufacturing facility, which converts the trucks from left to right-hand-drive, and the nearby National Parts Distribution Centre.
He was joined by Kay Hart, President of Ford International Markets Group, and Mark Rushbrook, Global Director of Ford Performance Motorsport.
Ford cast doubt on its future commitment to Supercars during 2023 amid struggles to achieve parity with the Chevrolet Camaro.
That has led to Supercars investing heavily in improving its parity processes, including a recent run of wind tunnel testing with two Gen3 cars in the United States.
