Returning V8 Supercars champion Marcos Ambrose admits even he may not have been able to stop Jamie Whincup from becoming a record six-time series winner.
And Ambrose reckons adding another V8 championship to his stunning resume next year is not on his radar.
Ambrose, 38, on Friday officially kicked off the countdown to his much-anticipated V8 return as a wildcard entry at the Sydney 500 from December 5-7.
Barely 48 hours after ending his nine-year NASCAR stint in the US, Ambrose in Brisbane revealed team colours for the new DJR Team Penske alliance which he will race at Sydney in preparation for a full-time drive in 2015.
The prospect of two-time V8 champ Ambrose finally going toe to toe with the dominant Whincup has caught Australian motorsport fans’ imagination.
Ambrose is seen by many as the man who can finally stop Whincup, who has won four straight V8 titles and six of the last seven.
Some fans wonder what might have been if Ambrose had not left to try his luck in the US after winning 2003-04 V8 titles.
But not the man himself.
“I am happy with my choices. I am very comfortable with what I have done,” he said.
“Jamie has done an exceptional job and deserves all of his championships.
“And he may well have done all of that while I was down here.”
No wonder Ambrose was happy with his US stint – he was one of only two non-American drivers who competed full-time for more than one NASCAR season.
He started in truck racing in 2006, moved to the second-tier Nationwide category the next year before graduating to the elite Sprint Cup full-time in 2009.
“It was nothing but success for me,” Ambrose said.
“I went across there on a whim and tried to make it work.
“I survived for a long time, won races in the NASCAR Sprint Cup level and left on my own terms knowing I could compete against the best.”
Ambrose drove for US stock car legend Richard Petty for the past four years, notching his two Sprint Cup wins for the man dubbed “The King” at the famous Watkins Glen track.
Watkins Glen is one of only two road courses on the Sprint Cup’s 38-race calendar.
The rest are oval tracks – a circuit on which Ambrose never finished higher than fifth.
“I left some unticked boxes but nothing is ever perfect is it,” Ambrose said.
Now back in Australia, Ambrose was asked if a V8 championship was possible in 2015.
“I don’t think anyone is thinking that,” he laughed.
“I have a fresh opportunity to come back into the series with a great team and we have to build it up into a championship-calibre team and it will take time.”
