Australian motorsport ace Marcos Ambrose made his first media appearance on home soil today since joining the ranks of NASCAR in North America at the beginning of this year. Ambrose took the opportunity to talk about his first season in NASCAR competition as part of the Craftsman Truck Series and his move up to the NASCAR Busch Series in 2007.

The former two-time Australian V8 Supercar champion also unveiled a new Team Australia car at the Gold Coast-based V8 Super School, which he has an interest in with current V8 Supercar driver Paul Morris. The Super School allows fans to be taken for a ride in a V8 Supercar or to actually drive the car themselves.

Ambrose had not driven on an oval of any description before making his NASCAR debut this year, but despite this, he finished the season with one Budweiser Pole Award, two top-three finishes and finished 21st in the season points out of the 90 drivers who took part, despite missing the first three rounds of the season while gaining his NASCAR license.

"This year has been one hell of a ride," said Ambrose. "We have been on one of the steepest learning curves for the past 12 months and while it is great to be back home for a few weeks, I cannot wait to get back over there and start preparing for next year's Busch Series. I feel that I have been accepted into the NASCAR community and I am tremendously grateful for that. NASCAR is the pinnacle of world motorsport and it is fantastic to be a part of what really is the greatest show on earth. There is no doubt that the learning curve will definitely continue next season as we progress to Busch."

Based at the Holden Performance Driving Centre at Norwell on Queensland's Gold Coast, the V8 Super School offers anyone the chance to tackle the challenge of driving a V8 race car.

The new Team Australia car is presented in a similar livery to Ambrose's Ford F-150 truck, which he campaigned in this year's NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series for Wood Brothers/JTG Racing.

Ambrose also has Ford Falcons in the colours of other personal sponsors including Stegbar/Jeld-Wen and Orrcon Steel. These cars go head-to-head with the Holden Commodores in Sirromet Wines, Castrol and Team Kiwi colour schemes.

All vehicles are equipped with Roll Cage, Race Seats & Harness, Full Race Aero Kits, Quick-shift Gearboxes, Race Suspension and Slick Racing Tyres. The V8 Super School operates daily, depending on circuit and track availability at the HPDC.

"Team Australia and, in particular Queensland businessman Craig Gore, have been fantastic supporters of mine and Wood Brothers/JTG Racing this year," said Ambrose. "It made sense to have a Team Australia car as part of the Super School and I think it looks fantastic with a similar colour scheme to what I had on my truck this season. I am hoping plenty of fans will head out to the school and give it a blast around."

Ambrose is set to spend Christmas with his family in Tasmania, but will spend the next two weeks completing sponsor commitments and attending the final round of the V8 Supercar Championship at Phillip Island this weekend. He will also be a guest at the V8 Supercar Gala dinner at the Crown Casino in Melbourne on Monday night.

And what about his tip for the final round at Phillip Island which is set to be a two-way contest between Ford's Craig Lowndes and Holden's Rick Kelly?

"I think it is going to be a cracker weekend, but my money and my heart are obviously with Craig and the Blue Oval," said Ambrose. "There is no doubt that Craig is pretty good around Phillip Island and I am sure he will be doing everything in his power to win his first championship for Ford. I look forward to being an observer and doing a bit of commentary work with Network Ten. I don't usually make a very good spectator, but I think next weekend is going to be very interesting."