DJR Team Penske will expand to two cars

The expansion of DJR Team Penske to two cars for the 2016 V8 Supercars Championship will be one of the key discussion topics this weekend as Penske Racing president Tim Cindric makes a flying visit to the SKYCITY Triple Crown Darwin SuperSprint.

And while Cindric is making it clear he and the local management team would like to make the widely expected move, it is by no means guaranteed.

"When we are ready we will add another car, but honestly we aren't ready yet and we are not ready yet for next year. But we are certainly working on it," Cindric told v8supercars.com.au before taking advantage of a rare weekend off for the NASCAR and IndyCar Championships to jet to Darwin from the USA.

When US businessman and motor racing icon Roger Penske bought a majority share in Dick Johnson Racing in 2014, the intention had been to run two cars in 2015.

However, with sponsorship backing proving a challenge, the team dropped back to a single car for returning 2003-04 V8 Supercars champion Marcos Ambrose.

Because of difficulty sorting the new Ford Falcon FG X and poor results he has since vacated the car for Scott Pye, who showed the team has made progress with his top 10 run at Winton.

Ambrose will return to the cockpit in Darwin today to take part in practice, teams having the option to run an additional driver on Fridays.

The team's battle to be competitive, the need to find more sponsorship and the search for additional quality personnel to underpin an expansion to two cars are all factors in deciding the direction the team will take for 2016.

The licence (or REC) to underpin the car would be a less challenging issue, because the team has a spare loaned out to Super Black Racing for this year, which it would take back.

The team also intends to continue to race the FG X in 2016.

"I think we keep our eyes open to see if there is an opportunity at the right time to expand because that's what we need to do at some point; whether that is for next year or not is still yet to be seen," Cindric said.

"We'd like to do it in the right way if we can. It is certainly our goal but I wouldn't say we are in a position to say that is what we are going to do.

"There are a lot of unanswered questions. We are out there and we are looking to try and understand who is available from a driver and a team perspective to get to that point.

"Obviously that takes sponsorship as well. We are there supporting our program with key partners and our own businesses. But for us to run a second car we have to first get ourselves to where we have a good foundation to build that second car and be able to build a good business plan for it."

While the decision to run only one car in 2015 has been widely perceived as contributing to the team's pace issues, Cindric dismissed that.

"I am glad we didn't, because we would have had two cars at the back not one. Quite honestly I don't think running two cars would have put us further ahead than we are now.

"A lot of people would argue about that. I am not sure that's the case given the quality of the two cars we would have had to put together."

Cindric revealed DJR Team Penske's difficult start to the season had cooled enthusiasm for a wild card entry into the Pirtek Enduro Cup or the Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000, possibly for two of its Indycar stars, which include Aussie superstar Will Power.

"I think obviously at the beginning of the year we felt we would be further along than we are and it would be a more popular topic for us," Cindric admitted.

"It is hard to consider a wildcard when you are trying to run your program on a day-to-day basis and improve things. It is probably a long shot for us. It is certainly something we would like to do at some point, but whether this is the right year to do it or not, we haven't really given it a lot more thought at this point."

Asked what would be at the top of his Darwin topics list, Cindric was - unsurprisingly - general in his response.

"I think it's the same as it has always been; how do we go forward? How do we continue to build on what we had at Winton and where are we as a team and what does the team think it needs from a resource perspective or a personnel perspective to go forward?

"Who is available to do that and what do we need in terms of pieces, parts and things to continue to build on the foundation."

The V8 Supercars hit the track today at Hidden Valley, with coverage beginning at 9am on FOX SPORTS 506. Click here for full TV broadcast details.