Supercars champ’s daughter has a steer

Tabitha Ambrose – the daughter of Marcos – has completed a shake down of her dad’s Ford NASCAR at Queensland Raceway. Marcos, the 2003-2004 Supercars champion, drove the #9 Stanley Ford to victory lane for the first time at Watkins Glen in 2012 in a dramatic last-lap battle with Brad Keselowski.

The nature of the test was to prepare Tabitha for this month’s Adelaide Motorsport Festival where she will do several demonstration sessions in the car in the Adelaide Park Lands from February 27 to March 1.

Tabitha shared the car today with Supercars veteran Warren Luff, who ironically drove with Marcos in the Pirtek Falcon at the Sandown 500 and Bathurst 1000 21 years ago – a year before Tabitha was born.

Luff did a couple of ‘installation’ laps to ensure everything was sound and then coached Tabitha through the remainder of the day.

Tabitha, 20, is preparing for this year’s Formula Ford Championship, which will be part of the Hi-Tec Oils Super Series that kicks off at The Bend Motorsport Park on March 13-15.

The day wasn’t totally trouble free when the throttle stuck open coming into the turn seven braking zone and gave the NASCAR debutant a ‘moment’ to remember.

She instantly got on the clutch and managed to roll into pitlane after switching off the engine, avoiding any damage and keeping the test day alive.

Tabitha will now be involved in a launch for the Formula Ford Championship at Winton Raceway on February 18-19 with her #45 Pirtek Formula Ford.

“It is a beast,” Tabitha said, when asked for her initial impressions of the NASCAR Cup car.

“I have never driven anything like it. I have gone from 160 horsepower in the Formula Ford to 850 in this car.

“You just get to the corners so fast. One second you are on the exit of turn three and the next you are braking into turn four.

“The biggest difference was definitely the braking. It is a big heavy car and you really have to get on the brake pedal.

“The H-pattern gearbox also took a little getting you to, but that all came reasonably quickly.

“Dad talked me through a lot of things this week, but Warren [Luff] was terrific and really did an amazing job of guiding me through everything.

“Having the throttle stick open in my second stint certainly got my attention and there were a few smiles back in the pit lane when I arrived back with the car and engine in one piece.

“I have to thank everyone who made this possible and I cannot wait to cut some laps in Adelaide at the end of the month. I am sure the fans are going to love seeing and hearing this car in the flesh.”

Luff expressed his gratidude for having the opportunity to be involved in the day.

“It is cool to be involved with days like today and with enthusiastic kids like Tabitha,” Luff said.

“She really listened and took everything on board and did everything that was asked of her.

“Having a throttle issue in one of these things the first time you are in the car is far from ideal, but she did exactly what was required, didn’t panic and got it back to us with any damage to the car or the engine.

“There is no doubt that she has learned a lot in her short motorsport career and is really passionate about making a career out of motorsport. The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.

“It is crazy to think that Marcos and I were sharing the PIRTEK Falcon 21 years ago and here we are today running his first NASCAR Sprint Cup winner with one of his girls.”

Marcos Ambrose said it was a proud moment to watch his daughter open up the throttle of his old beast.

“This is such a cool experience for Tabitha and means a lot to our family,” Marcos said.

“We have to thank all the stakeholders for creating the whole experience and the organisers of the Adelaide Motorsport Festival for inviting us as their guests. It is shaping as a great event.

“It is no easy task to jump in a race car like a NASCAR Cup machine and keep it off the walls.

“Tabitha and I have spoken a lot about it since the idea of her driving the car was presented to us.

“I have been nervous all day and that’s probably why I stayed a couple of states away.

“She was always going to be in good hands with Warren (Luff) and that proved to be the case.”