Skaife on Ambrose: "He will be outstanding"

Mark Skaife says returning two-time V8 Supercars Champion Marcos Ambrose has what it takes to push the current generation of front-runners.

Skaife believes Ambrose's return to V8 Supercars for 2015 from eight years racing NASCAR in the USA is fantastic for the sport, and that his former foe will not disappoint fans.

"I think it's an outstanding thing for the Championship - I think it's the best news for the sport in a long time," Skaife told v8supercars.com.au.

"There's a lot of people saying, what's he going to go like, will he be any good or whatever - we know he's been one of the best drivers we've ever had. And the level of competition within NASCAR is extreme.

"If he applies himself - which is one of his hallmarks - properly and gets back in the swing of what makes these cars tick, then he will be outstanding. It's just a fantastic story."

What does Skaife think of when he hears the name Marcos Ambrose?

"I think of a hardcore, really resilient, really committed, ultra competitive guy," the five-time champion said.

"I had some of the best races I've ever had with him, and I'm looking forward to seeing him in a car again."

It's now 10 years on from Ambrose's final V8 Supercars Championship win, and there are different names at the top of the table. A few big names still feature - Craig Lowndes is fighting for a Championship, Russell Ingall is still pressing on - but largely it's a new breed of competitors, with five-time Champion Jamie Whincup a force to be reckoned with.

"The front of the field has always been intense - I don't think the front of the field has changed very much at all but there's new players," Skaife said.

"So for him to come back and now have to, week in week out, beat guys like Jamie Whincup etcetera it's going to be very interesting. I can't wait."

The finer details of the Dick Johnson Racing and Team Penske alliance are still to come, but can they come into the sport and be instantly competitive?

"I don't know the detail ... a little bit of that for me is hard to answer. However the pedigree of Penske in the racing business - 49 years, 400 wins - I mean, it's one of the best motorsport operators in the world.

"And I wouldn't think, just knowing the way Roger goes about things, he wouldn't do it half baked. So to be able to be part of the series is a great endorsement of V8 Supercars, it is a real endorsement of the category strength.

"To put Marcos back in a car - I can't wait. This is energising stuff for the game, it's fantastic."

There are so many great Skaife versus Ambrose battles in the memory bank - but Skaife's best goes back to Oran Park, mid-way through Ambrose's second Championship winning year in 2004.

"I won the first race, we were battling in the second race, and I almost drilled him coming into the pits. A bit of gamesmanship in that because we didn't know he was coming in and all of a sudden he trod on the brake pedal in front of me to get into the pit - so I had two choices, either spear him, spin him into pitlane or miss him and go on. And when I went on I lost about 100m.

"But we were basically driving the cars like qualifying laps for that whole event. And when we got out, we walked up and shook hands - we'd basically won a race each and it was, on the day, the guy who won the second race won the round. So he effectively won the round, but it was just a classic battle.

"I'll always remember those sorts of rivalries, the qualifying speed that he had, the way he went about driving the car, I was always very impressed with his level of commitment."

Click here to read thoughts from current drivers and pit lane personalities on Ambrose's return.