223 days and counting: Ford's winless streaks
Ford is staring down the barrel of a seven-month winless streak when the 2021 Repco Supercars Championship resumes this weekend at Tailem Bend.
When Race 9 at the OTR SuperSprint commences on Saturday, it will mark 223 days since a Ford driver last tasted victory.
The Mustang is currently on a nine-race winless streak dating back to last October’s Bathurst 1000, with Holden Commodore ZBs sweeping the pool.
WATCH: BRILLIANT BEND MOMENTS
However, the nine-race barren run, while a long spell with regards to time, is far from Ford’s worst winless streak in the past decade.
Between 2011 and the recently-completed Beaurepaires Tasmania SuperSprint, Ford has been on a run of 10 or more races without a win six times.
The first was in 2012, with Triple Eight Holdens winning 11 straight races in the middle of the season.
Triple Eight and FPR shared the wins in 2012
The 2013 wasn’t much better for Falcon drivers, with Commodores winning 16 of the first 17 races of the season, including a run of nine straight.
A winless run of 13 races was formed by the last five races of 2013 and first eight of 2014.
Prior to the remarkable Bathurst win for Chaz Mostert and Paul Morris, Falcons went winless for 10 races in the middle of 2014.
WATCH: MOSTERT'S BATHURST BREAKTHROUGH
The longest winless run for Ford in the past decade occurred in the middle of the 2016 season, where Falcons won just two of 29 races.
Mark Winterbottom won at Wanneroo Raceway in May 2016, and brought up the Blue Oval’s second win of 2016 at Pukekohe in November, exactly six months later.
It came after the Falcon FG X failed to win in 15 races; a total combined of the last seven races of 2015, and first eight of 2016.
Winterbottom won both races for Ford in 2016
That’s not to say Ford hasn’t had golden runs of its own; in 2012, 2015 (twice), 2018 and 2019, Holden went on seven-race winless streaks.
The best run for Ford came in the first year of Mustangs, with Shell V-Power Racing Team Fords winning nine straight races in the middle of the 2019 season.
The Mustang won 16 of its first 17 races in 2019, with Scott McLaughlin winning a record 18 races in his title-winning campaign.
Ford’s best winning streak in 2020 was four; in an omen for this weekend, the streak was formed at The Bend courtesy of wins for McLaughlin and Cameron Waters.
WATCH: FORD’S MOST RECENT WIN
Tickford Racing driver Waters was the most recent Ford winner, with his Race 30 win at The Bend the most recent for the Blue Oval.
After some more stunning one-lap pace at Symmons Plains, can Waters make it count at Tailem Bend? Should Ford hit the top, he will have to get past the Shell Mustangs, which have been the dominant force at the South Australian circuit.
The Repco Supercars Championship field will return to The Bend Motorsport Park this weekend the OTR SuperSprint across May 7-9. Tickets are on sale now.
The event will be broadcast live on Foxtel and will be streamed on Kayo with highlights on 7 and 7 Plus.
Longest Ford winless streaks since 2011
16 races: Race 10, Winton 2016 to Race 25, Auckland 201615 races: Race 30, Auckland 2015 to Race 9, Perth 201614 races: Race 31, Gold Coast 2015 to Race 6, Tasmania 201613 races: Race 32, Phillip Island 2013 to Race 8, Winton 201411 races: Race 12, Darwin 2012 to Race 22, Gold Coast 201210 races: Race 20, Townsville 2014 to Race 29, Sandown 20149 races: Race 31, Bathurst 2020 to Race 8, Tasmania 2021*
*active streak
Longest Holden winless streaks since 2011
9 races: Race 9, Phillip Island 2019 to Race 17, Townsville 20197 races: Race 1, Adelaide 2019 to Race 7, Tasmania 20197 races: Race 9, Phillip Island 2018 to Race 15, Darwin 20187 races: Race 7, Perth 2015 to Race 13, Darwin 20157 races: Race 15, Darwin 2015 to Race 21, Sydney 20157 races: Race 5, Hamilton 2012 to Race 11, Phillip Island 2012
