WPS Racing was an Australian motor racing team that competed in Australian

V8 Supercar The Supercars Championship is a touring car racing category in Australia, running as an International Series under Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) regulations, governing the sport. Supercars events take place in all Australian ...

racing between

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

and

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...

. It was owned by

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

businessman

Craig Gore Craig Gore is an entrepreneur from Sydney, Australia. Biography Craig Kirrin Gore was born in Fairfield, New South Wales on 7 January 1967. He is the son of Sanctuary Cove Developer Mike Gore. Gore spent his early life in the western suburbs o ...

and sponsored by his Wright Patton Shakespeare company.

History

In 2003, Wright Patton Shakespeare entered

V8 Supercars The Supercars Championship is a touring car racing category in Australia, running as an International Series under Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) regulations, governing the sport. Supercars events take place in all Australian ...

as a sponsor of

Mark Noske Mark Noske (born 25 July 1975) is a former Australian racing car driver. He has scored round wins in various Australian championships including the Australian Drivers' Championship, the Australian Formula Ford Championship and the Australian N ...

’s Ford Falcon AU for the last three events of the season. In 2004, Gore purchased two

Ford Falcon BA The Ford Falcon (BA) is a full-sized car produced by Ford Australia from 2002 to 2005. It was the second significantly re-engineered iteration of the sixth generation of the Falcon, and also included the Ford Fairmont (BA)—the luxury-oriented ...

s, a transporter and associated equipment from the defunct 00 Motorsport team as well as the car and equipment (which was also ex 00 Motorsport) that Noske had used in 2003. The team initially ran one car with Noske and

David Besnard David Besnard, (born 21 January 1977 in Sydney, Australia) is a retired professional racing driver. Career history Starting in karts in 1991, he quickly proceeded into Formula Ford in 1995. After initial success, he had a major accident at Easte ...

sharing the driving duties under a Level 2 franchise leased from Lansvale Racing Team. The second car was entered from Round 4 following the purchase of a Level 2 franchise from David Thexton. It also raced the ex Noske AU in the non-championship Konica race at Bathurst for Neil McFadyen. Noske left the team before the end of the year with

Craig Baird Craig George Baird (born 22 July 1970) is a New Zealand former racing driver who now is the driving standards observer for the Australian Supercars Championship. Honours In the 2010 New Year Honours, Baird was appointed a Member of the New ...

joining in

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

, WPS also purchased two Level 1 licences from

Perkins Engineering Perkins Engineering was a team contesting the Australian V8 Supercar Championship Series, operating as an active racing team between 1986 and 2008. From 2009 onwards, the involvement of Perkins Engineering in the championship wounded back into ...

. In

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

, WPS Racing 'merged' with

Larkham Motor Sport Larkham Motor Sport was a motorsport team contesting the V8 Supercar Championship between 1995 and 2005. History Larkham Motor Sport was formed in 1990 with the intent of furthering Mark Larkham's career after he won the 1989 Australian Formu ...

, with

Mark Larkham Mark "Larko" Larkham (born 29 December 1963 in Griffith) is a retired Australian racing driver, former racing team owner and television commentator. Open wheelers Mark Larkham's first impressions on the national racing spotlight was finishing ...

joining as team manager,

Jason Bargwanna Jason Eric Bargwanna (born 26 April, 1971) is an Australian motor racing driver. Best known as a Supercars Championship competitor, Bargwanna raced in the series for 25 years, the pinnacle of which was winning, with Garth Tander, the 2000 Bathu ...

and

Orrcon Steel Orrcon Steel is a leading Australian distributor and manufacturer of steel, tube and pipe. Our extensive product range covers RHS, SHS & CHS structural tubular steel, hot rolled structural steel and a variety of fencing, roofing and building acces ...

also transferring.

Max Wilson Max Wilson (born August 22, 1972 in Hamburg, West Germany) is a racing driver of Brazilian parentage. Racing career Junior formulae Wilson started his motor racing career in 1985 in go-karts. He moved into single-seaters in 1993, when he was o ...

drove the second car. In October 2007, Craig Gore was involved in a helicopter accident which caused considerable damage to his inner ear. On medical advice he had been told to avoid any sources of loud noises, thus stopping him from attending V8 Supercar events. Attempts were made to sell the team as a going concern in late 2007 and early 2008 were not successful and it closed in February 2008.

Controversy

In the 2004 Tasmanian Round warm-up session, both cars were black-flagged for having the slogan "No money from Ford" on top of the windscreen. This slogan was deemed unsportsmanlike in the V8 Supercar series. The slogan was to highlight Craig Gore dissatisfaction with

Ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...

, who refused to provide financial assistance.Plains-talking Gore complains of cover-up
''Sydney Morning Herald'' 16 November 2004 Craig Gore's team went on to win a race in the first year at this event, the race win was objected by a number of teams but later granted to Besnard.

Drivers

References

{{Reflist, 2 Australian auto racing teams Sports teams in Queensland Auto racing teams established in 2004 Supercars Championship teams 2004 establishments in Australia Auto racing teams disestablished in 2008 2008 disestablishments in Australia