Ambrose V8 Supercar return was 'harder than expected'

There has been a lot of speculation in regards to Marcos Ambrose and his decision to give up the wheel of his DJR Team Penske Ford Falcon to Scott Pye. After a decade long hiatus and then a highly anticipated return, leaving his new home in NASCAR and joining forces with motorsports icon Roger Penske, no one thought this would happen two events into their new relationship.

When it became obvious I couldn’t (improve the racecar and the results), it became an untenable position on me personally

Marcos Ambrose

In the first round of 2015, Ambrose put up results of 16th, 16th, and 12th. Following the exhibition race in Melbourne though, where V8 Supercars played the role of supporting series to Formula One, the Aussie stepped down from his role as driver.

Ambrose hinted in an interview with News Ltd, an official partner to V8 Supercars, that the decision was not made as a result of one single circumstance. However, it seems as though he thought he was holding the team back while he continued this tough transition back into the pinnacle of Australian motorsport.

Ambrose comments

“It became obvious to me that returning to be the lead driver in this one-car team, and trying to improve the car, ultimately by race results and also by engineering the car, was harder than I had expected," said Ambrose.

“So the duty on my shoulders, as a relative rookie in a series that has moved on, was to improve the racecar and the results. When it became obvious I couldn’t do that, it became an untenable position on me personally.”