Report: Will Marcos Ambrose return to native Australia and V8 Supercars to race for Roger Penske? - MotorSportsTalk

Richard Petty made a seemingly off-hand remark during January’s annual NASCAR preseason media tour that he wasn’t sure whether one of his drivers, Marcos Ambrose, would still be racing in Sprint Cup in 2015.

“I don’t know how much longer he wants to stay in the U.S.,” Petty said. “You know, he’s come a long way. He’s sort of a hero in Australia just because he’s running Cup. His big deal is if he could win on a round and around racetrack, that would be the optimum for him. If he did do that, he’d probably just go home and say, ‘Thank you guys,’ but I don’t know.”

Ambrose’s contract expires with Richard Petty Motorsports at the end of this season.

Now comes a report from AutoSport.com’s Mark Glendenning that links Ambrose with legendary race team owner Roger Penske’s possible plans to form a V8 Supercars team to race as early as next year in Ambrose’s native Australia.

Coincidence? Or did Petty know something more than he was leading on when he made that comment about Ambrose and his future more than two months ago?

Although Penske said it’s still “early” about plans to expand his motorsports empire overseas into either V8 Supercars or other forms of sports car racing, Australia definitely has his attention.

“We’re potentially looking at Australia,” Penske said, according to AutoSport. “As soon as you talk to them that’s the first thing they want to know: ‘Are you interested in V8 Supercars?’ So that might be something we do at some point.”

But the V8 Supercars landscape could potentially be significantly altered next season. Penske is affiliated with Ford in NASCAR and Chevrolet in IndyCar.

“The issue that you have is that the manufacturers are pulling out of manufacturing in Australia,” Penske said. “Holden is coming out, Ford is coming out, Toyota is coming out.

“And now, V8s aren’t what people are buying – people are buying turbocharged, direct-injected 1.8 liters or 2.0 liters.

“And you’ve got Mercedes in [V8 Supercars] now, Volvo is in, Nissan is in, so it’s starting to open up. So it will be interesting to see whether there is an opportunity for us with some manufacturer.”

Before he came to NASCAR, Ambrose won a pair of V8 Supercar championships in his homeland.

And if the AutoSport report of Ambrose potentially racing for Penske is correct, might Petty already be quietly starting to shop around for a potential replacement for Ambrose for next season?

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Benny Bloss will race for the factory Beta Motorcycles team in 2024 as that manufacturer joins SuperMotocross as the ninth brand to compete in the series. Beta Motorcycles will make their debut in the Monster Energy Supercross opener at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, California in January.

*Benny Bloss finished among the top 10 twice in Pro Motocross, in 2016 and 2018. – Beta Motorcycles*

“The wait is over and we can finally share everything we have been working towards,” said Carlen Gardner, Race Team Manager in a press release. “It has been a great experience being a part of this development and seeing the progression. The only missing part was finding a rider that would mesh well with our Beta Family.

“After a one phone call with Benny, we knew it would be a good fit for him, and for us. We are happy to have him on board for the next two years and can’t wait to see everyone at Anaheim in January.”

Bloss debuted in the 450 class in 2015 with a 15th-place finish overall at Ironman Raceway in Crawfordsville, Indiana.

Bloss has a pair of top-10 rankings in the division with a sixth-place finish in the Pro Motocross Championship in 2016 and a seventh in 2018. His best Supercross season ended 15th in the standings in 2018.

“I’m extremely excited to join the Beta Factory Racing team,” Bloss said. “It’s cool to see a brand with such a rich history in off-road racing to come into the US Supercross and Motocross space. I know this team will be capable of great things as we build and go racing in 2024.”

Bloss is currently 22nd in the SuperMotocross rankings and has not raced in the first two rounds of the Motocross season.

Testing for Beta Motorcycles is scheduled to begin in August and the team expects to announce a second rider at that time.

The family-owned brand adds to the international flare of the sport. The company was founded in Florence, Italy in 1905 as Società Giuseppe Bianchi as they built handmade bicycles, The transition to motorcycle production in the late 1940s.

Beta Motorcycles competed and won in motocross competition in the late 1970s and early 1980s with Jim Pomeroy and other riders.

Beta will join Triumph Motorcycles as a second historic brand to join the sport in 2024. First established in 1902, Triumph has won in nearly every division they have competed in, dating back to their first victory in the 1908 Isle of Man TT. Triumph will debut in the 250 class in 2024 and plans to expand into 450s in 2025.

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