When I look at the calendar for 2026, I don’t just see dates. I see memory-making moments that fill me with immense pride. This year is the most comprehensive motorsport program Ford has committed to in Australia. Not just in years, but decades.

We're competing across nearly every major racing discipline this country has to offer. From the global stage of Formula 1 to the Supercars championship, from the precision of GT3 endurance racing to a bold new Mustang one-make series. This isn't just a racing program. It's a statement about what Ford is and what it stands for.

Motorsport is in Ford’s DNA. Indeed, the company was founded off the back of a race win by Henry Ford in 1901. Racing is our toughest teacher with every track a proving ground and opportunity to improve our vehicles. In 2026, we're showing up in a way we haven't done in a generation in our 125th year of racing.

A Legacy Written in Victories

Our history in Australian motorsport runs deep. Really deep. When the Australian Touring Car Championship launched in 1960, as a one-off race at Gnoo Blas in Orange, in the Central West of New South Wales, Ford was on the start line and has been ever since.

But, right now, there are two years that stand out to me as exclamation points in our history. And they are, 1965 and 2025.

In 1965, Norm Beechey, the first Aussie to race a Mustang here, dominated racing circuits around the country and won the Australian Touring Car Championship. Sixty years later, in 2025, that legacy came full circle when Chaz Mostert claimed the Supercars title in a Mustang. Six decades apart. Two Mustangs. The same hunger to win.

Mustang dominated Australian racetracks in the 1960s, winning every Australian Touring Car Championship between 1965 and 1969.

In between then and now, the names that built this legacy are legendary.

In the 1970s, Allan Moffat came to symbolise the grit and determination of Ford on the track. His incredible Bathurst victories in the iconic XW and XY GTHO Falcons cemented his reputation as one of the best. The one-two formation finish in the XC Falcon Hardtops in 1977 made him a Ford Racing legend.

His feats in the Trans-Am Mustang continued the Mustang dominance of Aussie racing circuits from the late 1960s through to the mid 1970s. From 108 race starts he achieved a staggering 108 poles, and 78 wins making it one of the sport’s most successful racing cars.

And then there’s Dick Johnson. A name synonymous with Ford. A champion, a fighter, and a man who has remained connected to this company through triumph and adversity. Dick represents the spirit of the Blue Oval. Resilience. Determination. Loyalty. His association with Ford continues to this day, and that means everything to us.

In the decades since there has been a cavalcade of champions who have raced for Ford in Australia – names like Seton, Ambrose, Ingall, Whincup, Lowndes, Winterbottom, Courtney, McLaughlin and more. We’re proud of all of them.

2025: The highs and lows

Last year reminded us why we race. Chaz Mostert brought home the Supercars Championship. Matt Payne and Garth Tander conquered Mount Panorama at the Bathurst 1000. Out in the desert, the Ranger Raptor achieved a three-peat at the Finke Desert Race and saw Brad Lovell set a new production vehicle record. That same Ranger Raptor, the one fans watched race across the outback, is the one you can buy from your local dealer today.

These victories reinforced something fundamental. Racing makes us better.

But 2025 was also a year of loss. Allan Moffat OBE passed away, and the Ford family mourned. Allan embodied everything we aspire to be. Fearless. Uncompromising. Relentlessly focused on excellence. Every race we enter in 2026 carries his legacy forward.

2026: A commitment like no other

This year, Ford is competing at a scale that I’m incredibly proud of.

Mustang GT3 at Bathurst: Just last weekend the Mustang GT3 made its Australian racing debut at the Bathurst 12 Hour. This was GT3 endurance racing at its finest and hearing that 5.4-litre Coyote V8 echo across Mount Panorama was unforgettable. While it didn’t end the way we hoped, we will be back to conquer that race.

Triple Eight returns to Ford: The Supercars season begins this weekend, and we welcome Triple Eight Race Engineering as our new homologation partner. This is one of the most respected teams in the country and having them back with the Blue Oval is a gamechanger.

Ford is back in Formula 1: Ford is back at the pinnacle of motorsport. At the Australian Grand Prix early next month, Red Bull Ford Powertrains will power Max Verstappen and Isaack Hadjar in the Oracle Red Bull Racing cars as well as Liam Lawson and Arvid Lindblad in the Visa Cash App Racing Bulls. Seeing the Blue Oval on an F1 grid is something I never thought I’d witness again, and I’m incredibly proud that it will happen in Australia.

Mustang Cup: We’re launching an all-new one-make series, with round 1 at Phillip Island on March 27-29. A full grid of Mustang Dark Horse Rs will be a sight, and sound, to behold. The six-round season will build an exciting addition local motorsport and a pathway towards finding the next driving stars.

Why this matters

We don't race for trophies alone. We race because it makes us sharper. The pressure of competition forces us to solve problems faster, engineer smarter, and build tougher. The innovations born on the track eventually make their way to the vehicles our customers depend on every day.

Racing also connects us to something bigger. It connects us to you. The fans who fly the flag at every race. The families who've been Blue Oval loyal for generations. The Falcon owners who refuse to let go of their XR6 Turbo, or FPV GT. The Ranger drivers who’ve helped it become the top-selling vehicle in Australia three years running (2023, 2024 and 2025). You are why we do this.

2026 is about honouring the past while charging into the future. It's about showing up in every category that matters and competing with everything we have.

To all our customers, fans and future fans: we see you. We hear you. And we're doing this for you.

Fadi Mawal is President and CEO of Ford Australia and New Zealand