Ford Falcon FG & FG X: Last lap for an Australian racing icon
The Aussie Falcon boasts a proud racing heritage spanning almost seven decades. However, its 25-year evolution during the V8 Supercar era - with increasing emphasis on design and performance parity with rival marques - resulted in the FG and final FG X Falcons retaining the least autonomy and showroom links of all racing Falcons.
This parity process, which commenced with the Ford vs Holden V8 category’s inception in 1993, was initially enforced by governing body CAMS through its Performance Review Committee. However, each attempt by the PRC to address a perceived unfair performance advantage for either Falcon or Commodore, via simple aerodynamic adjustments, usually triggered ugly political brawling amongst rival teams and manufacturers.
After a decade of unrest, the teams’ association TEGA introduced an innovative engineering strategy called ‘Project Blueprint’ which from 2003 successfully aligned all key performance criteria between Falcon and Commodore.
This new strategy created an unprecedented spirit of co-operation and goodwill and brought an end to the public slanging matches. The primary focus of the new rules was to align the two greatest differences between the then-latest BA Falcon and VY Commodore - engines and front suspensions.
In both cases it was the Commodore which had to undergo the greatest changes, adopting a new GM-sourced engine (which was almost identical to the Ford V8) and the Falcon’s twin-wishbone front suspension design. There were many other detailed engineering and aerodynamic refinements.
The end result was an effective design ‘blueprint’ to maintain performance parity between future Falcon and Commodore V8 Supercar models, which served the category well for another decade (2003-2012). It was during this time that the FG Falcon became Ford’s frontline fighter.
FG Falcon 2009-2012
The prototype FG Falcon V8 Supercar broke cover in mid-2008, when Ford teams were in their last season of racing the BF and the new FG was in the final stages of homologation for 2009.
Presented in Ford’s striking Nitro Blue corporate colour scheme, the new Falcon cut some demonstration laps at Sandown to let Ford fans see the new contender that would tackle Holden’s already formidable VE Commodore the following year.
The FG prototype, internally codenamed T2 during its 18-month development but known publicly as FG01, was the result of a joint effort between Ford’s three major teams - Ford Performance Racing, Stone Brothers Racing and Triple Eight Race Engineering. Triple Eight’s technical director Ludo Lacroix oversaw the FG’s aerodynamic development.
It was clearly an evolution of the BF, with the primary goals being to improve performance but also reduce the cost of chassis construction, crash repairs and running costs. As a result, the FG used as many existing BF race components as possible to minimise parts redundancy.
Another design target was improved safety. The most noticeable advance was relocation of the driver’s seat, which was moved even further inboard to create the largest gap possible between the seat and driver’s door for extra protection in the event of heavy side impacts.
The FG was immediately competitive with the VE Commodore, setting the stage for a gripping season-long battle in 2009 dominated by Ford’s Triple Eight Race Engineering (Jamie Whincup/Craig Lowndes) and the Holden Racing Team (Garth Tander/Will Davison).
These two powerhouse teams won 22 of the season’s 26 point-scoring races between them. HRT won the prestigious Phillip Island 500/Bathurst 1000 double, but Whincup secured his second consecutive drivers’ title and first for the FG Falcon in a dream debut.
However, in stark contrast came the shock announcement that Lowndes and Whincup would be driving factory-backed Commodores in 2010! Ford’s apparent indifference towards maintaining its ties with the pre-eminent Queensland-based team defied logic, but then Ford had form in this area. Triple Eight boss Roland Dane would ensure Ford paid a heavy price in seasons to come!
Even so, the FG Falcon narrowly won a second V8 Supercars drivers’ title in 2010 thanks to Dick Johnson Racing and the impressive consistency of James Courtney, who had to wait until the final race at Homebush in Sydney to claim his first crown.
Reigning champ Whincup, now driving a Triple Eight VE Commodore, finished a close runner-up to Courtney while Lowndes reunited with former HRT team-mate Mark Skaife in the second Triple Eight Commodore to win the Phillip Island 500/Bathurst 1000 double.
The dominant Whincup and Lowndes then finished 1-2 in both the 2011 and 2012 championships, with the highest-placed Ford on both occasions being FPR’s FG Falcon driven by Mark Winterbottom. Commodores also won both Bathurst 1000s held during this time.
FG Falcon 2013-2014: Car of the Future
Since the category’s inception in 1993, it had been exclusively a two-horse race between Falcon and Commodore. However, two decades later the Australian automotive industry had evolved into one of the world’s most competitive car markets, with more than 60 brands competing for annual sales of around one million units.
Combine such a huge choice of vehicles with the many changes in cultural backgrounds, lifestyles, attitudes and tastes of Australia’s car buying public over the same timeframe and you can understand why cars like Falcons and Commodores - which sold in large numbers 20 years before - no longer enjoyed such broad appeal.
In fact, by 2013 the traditional large family car market was in terminal decline, with both the Falcon and Commodore destined to cease local production before the end of the decade. In response to this downturn, 2013 saw another generational change in V8 Supercar racing with the introduction of Car of the Future (COTF).
COTF was a logical evolution of Project Blueprint, with its primary goal being to open the door to manufacturers other than Ford and Holden. COTF was also designed to ensure even greater performance parity between rival marques and make the cars lighter, safer, stronger and cheaper to build and repair, with the use of as many generic or ‘control’ parts as possible.
The category’s founding principles of 5.0 litre V8/rear-wheel drive/four-door sedan were retained, but all cars regardless of make or model would now share a common platform or ‘control’ chassis with identical dimensions, materials and construction techniques. A road car’s standard steel body panels were then attached at various points, resulting in only the outer shell of the showroom product remaining.
A minimum weight of 1410kg included for the first time the driver, to ensure that larger and heavier drivers were not unfairly penalised by racing with a higher weight compared to smaller and lighter drivers.
The new chassis also dispensed with the original six-speed Holinger gearbox and multi-link live rear axle in favour of a new independent rear suspension, built around an Albins ST6 transaxle housing a sequential six-speed gearbox and spool-type locked differential. Rear suspension wishbones and uprights were also control components, to minimise build and development costs.
Engines choices extended beyond the traditional Ford and GM two-valves-per-cylinder pushrod V8s, with allowance for dual overhead camshafts and four-valves-per-cylinder. Capacity limit remained at 5.0 litres and V8 engines could be used in cars not originally fitted with them in production, provided the car and engine came from the same manufacturer.
COTF also moved the engine rearward and the fuel cell forward, to improve weight distribution and safety in the event of major front or rear impacts. Other safety initiatives were a collapsible steering column and a polycarbonate windscreen that was much stronger than glass.
The wheel diameter also increased from 17 to 18 inches, primarily to allow the use of larger and more powerful brakes supplied by AP Racing, also as cost-cutting control components.
Two COTF prototypes, based on the FG Falcon and VE Commodore, were unveiled at the final round of the 2011 championship. They performed some track demonstrations as a preview of the new rules due for introduction in 2013, when the Car of the Future name was also replaced with ‘New Generation’ or ‘New Gen’ for short.
The changes were well received and, for the first time in V8 Supercar history, attracted brands other than Ford and Holden. Nissan announced it would enter the category in 2013 with Kelly Racing and a quartet of Altima sedans powered by the Nissan Patrol's DOHC 32-valve V8. Australian GT racing team Erebus Motorsport announced it too would be joining the series, running a trio of privately-entered Mercedes Benz E63 sedans with AMG-developed DOHC 32-valve V8s.
In 2014 Swedish icon Volvo, in collaboration with Garry Rogers Motorsport under the Volvo Polestar Racing banner, also joined the V8 war with S60 sedans powered by Polestar-developed versions of the marque’s venerable Yamaha-designed DOHC 32-valve V8.
Even so, the Holden Commodore (now updated to the latest VF bodywork) continued to dominate as Triple Eight’s defending champ Whincup stormed to his fifth V8 Supercar drivers’ title in 2013, with team-mate Lowndes finishing second for the third straight season.
The FG Falcon proved to be competitive with the VF Commodore under the new rules but had no answer to Holden’s Triple Eight juggernaut, with FPR’s Will Davison the highest placed Ford runner in third. The FG Falcon also scored a thrilling Bathurst 1000 win thanks to a gutsy effort by FPR’s Mark Winterbottom and co-driver Steven Richards.
In 2014 Whincup maintained his stranglehold on the drivers’ championship by securing a record sixth title. In its final season, the FG Falcon had again been outclassed by its Holden foe in the title fight, with FPR’s Mark Winterbottom the highest-placed Falcon driver in third. However, the FG also scored back-to-back Bathurst victories after FPR’s Chas Mostert took the lead from an out-of-fuel Whincup on the final lap to score a nail-biting win with co-driver Paul Morris.
FG X Falcon 2015-2016
Following the release of the final Aussie Falcon – the FG X – in October 2014, race teams wanted to give Ford’s iconic bird of prey the best chance of finishing on a high as preparations were made for its racing debut in 2015.
The existing FG Falcon was updated with the latest FG X front and rear bodywork, featuring a revised front spoiler and rear wing package. Particular attention was paid to ensuring the new rear wing was more effective than its predecessor, as Ford teams were generally in agreement that the FG had been lacking a bit in rear downforce compared to the Commodore.
Ford Performance Racing was also renamed Prodrive Racing Australia for 2015, in response to Ford’s reduced support in its final year of direct involvement in the sport. Dick Johnson Racing was also rebranded as DJR Team Penske, after the US racing giant bought a controlling interest in the iconic Queensland-based Ford team.
The New Gen FG X proved to be an even more effective race car than the FG, with Mark Winterbottom claiming nine round wins to seal his (and FPR/PRA’s) first V8 Supercar drivers’ crown before the final round. Triple Eight claimed the remaining silverware including another Holden Bathurst win for Craig Lowndes and co-driver Steven Richards.
In 2016, though, the FG X was no match for the VF Commodore with reigning champ Mark Winterbottom and PRA finishing sixth in the championship behind four Holdens (led by another 1-2 for Triple Eight) and GRM's Volvo S60.
FG X 2017-2018: Gen2
2017 saw an evolution of the New Gen regulations introduced in 2013. These revised rules - Gen2 - allowed an even wider choice of body shapes and engines beyond the existing four-door sedans and 5.0 litre V8s.
This was to entice car manufacturers that preferred to race a two-door coupe body style and/or a turbocharged four cylinder or six cylinder engine. The category’s name was also changed to ‘Supercars’ to tell the world it was now catering for more than just V8-powered cars.
Holden was the first manufacturer to respond, committing to development of a GM-sourced 3.6 litre twin-turbocharged V6 during 2017 as part of a proposed wholesale switch to the latest Opel-sourced ZB Commodore in 2018. However, Holden eventually shelved its ambitious Gen2 engine plans in early 2018.
So, with Volvo Polestar Racing having withdrawn and Erebus replacing its Mercedes Benz fleet with VF Commodores, the first year of Gen2 in 2017 was a three-way fight between the out-of-production FG X Falcon, VF Commodore and Nissan Altima, all powered by their existing 5.0 litre V8s.
DJR Team Penske driver Scott McLaughlin in his flying FG X was one of five drivers who went into the final round with a mathematical chance of winning the title. However, in a thrilling if controversial finish, in which McLaughlin was first across the line but then penalised 15 seconds for a driving infringement, the race win and championship (his seventh!) went to Whincup in his VF Commodore.
For 2018 Holden switched to the new ZB Commodore, powered by the trusty 5.0 litre V8 carried over from the VF. And with Ford ending its three-year absence by announcing an official return to Supercar racing in 2019 - this time with a Mustang – 2018 was the FG X Falcon’s fourth and final Supercar season. Fittingly, it went out a winner with McLaughlin claiming his first driver's title and the FG X's second and final crown.
And with that the end of the Aussie Falcon’s incredible near seven decade touring car career, which started with a complete showroom offering in 1960 and finished in 2018 with some of its outer body panels the only remaining link with the showroom product. Even so, it leaves an unmatched and indelible racing legacy.
