THERE is plenty of racing to come between now and next year’s Bathurst 1000, but already there is speculation about whom one of the favourites for the 2015 edition could be – a man called Marcos Ambrose.

Yesterday it was confirmed that Ambrose will be making his return to the V8 Supercars series for next year as part of a deal Team Penske has inked with Dick Johnson Racing.

Talk of Ambrose’s return to the Australian series began as early as last December when Roger Penske attended the season-ending Sydney 500.

Since then Penske has been in talks with DJR and when, on Saturday morning, Richard Petty Motorsports announced that Ambrose would not return to NASCAR 2015, it further fuelled rumours of a V8 Supercars seat for him.

“I feel like my level has plateaued at the Sprint Cup level,” Ambrose said. 

“I haven’t kicked off to the next level. And so I always said that if I felt like I’d flattened off my learning curve, or my success, that I was only in US to race to win. And when I felt like I wasn’t going to be able to contend like I wanted, that I need to look at my situation. That has certainly been the case. It’s been a tough couple of years on the race track for me, and my family, personal situation is clear.”

Yesterday the rumours were confirmed – Ambrose will be back in V8 Supercars in 2015 behind the wheel of the number 17 Ford for DJR Team Penske.

“This is a great opportunity to return home to a place that I love in a series where I’ve experienced a lot of success,” Ambrose said.

“It will be an honour to race for two motor sport legends in Roger Penske and Dick Johnson.”

During his four seasons in the US, Ambrose has picked up two Sprint Cup Series victories and five wins in the Nationwide Series. All of those have come on road courses at either Watkins Glen or Montreal – he has never won a race on an oval track.

Ambrose has not enjoyed the same sort of success he found in Australia.

He won back-to-back V8 Supercars championships in 2003 and 2004, while in his final season in 2005 before departing to the US, Ambrose was runner-up.

Team Penske is one of America’s largest and most successful racing operations and the deal is a massive boost to a DJR outfit whose financial struggles have been well documented.

“We are certainly looking forward to this new challenge,” Johnson said. 

“I have always admired what Roger Penske has accomplished in business and with his racing teams and it will be a thrill to work with Team Penske and Marcos in 2015.”

As for Ambrose himself, Johnson is well aware of the skill he possesses. 

While Ambrose’s best Bathurst 1000 result was a fourth placing in 2004 with Greg Ritter, he made an impact from the moment he joined the series in 2001 as a Stone Brothers Racing driver.

His took pole position in his first race and went on to finish as the rookie of the year as he placed eighth in the championship. He boasts 15 round wins from 65 rounds and 30 podium finishes. 

“The guy obviously did well here in the early parts of his career in ’03 and ’04 and went to the US and certainly made a mark there as well in one of the toughest categories – NASCAR,” Johnson said.