Endorsement for V8 Supercars

V8 Supercars CEO James Warburton has praised DJR Team Penske's decision to expand to running two cars in the Championship from 2016.

It was announced yesterday the team - that carries the name of two motorsport legends - would increase its involvement in the category and field Ford Falcons for Fabian Coulthard and Scott Pye.

"It is a great endorsement of V8 Supercars to have DJR Team Penske extend their commitment to a second car in 2016 and beyond," Warburton said.

"To have a global racing powerhouse like Penske expand their investment in V8 Supercars is a recognition of the popularity and growth of the sport."

Under the guise of Dick Johnson Racing the team ran two cars - it was justthisyear it downsized to one as its transformed into DJR Team Penske. It will grow again for 2016, with Penske Racing president Tim Cindric saying V8 Supercars represented the Penske brand in "the right way".

He was impressed by the Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 - which achieved its second-highest attendance in history, behind the year it celebrated its 50th anniversary - and praised the job Warburton has done at the helm.

"You saw it at Bathurst, the results there and James and the group are doing a really good job building the sport," Cindric said."Bathurst was a testament to that when you look at the numbers, attendance and enthusiasm that was around that event."

While there had been question marks around whether DJR Team Penske would expand or not, Cindric said they were "here to stay".

The team has experienced a difficult first year with two-time V8 Supercars champion Marcos Ambrose decided to step out of the drivers seat after a high-profile return and just one Championship round.

Young gun Scott Pye took over and while it has taken some time to be a consistent force, proved his worth at the Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 racing the front-runners and qualifying for the ARMOR ALL Top 10 Shootout.

Bathurst - on and off the track - seems to have played a big part in the decision, which Cindric confirmed was made between Sunday night and Monday.

While he acknowledged the commercial backing for the second car had not been finalised, Cindric also noted "you always have that in motorsport".