Ford wraps up manufacturers' title in Bahrain.

By Matthew Agius

The Ford Motor Company is the 2006 V8 Supercar manufacturers' champion after Jason Bright secured victory at this weekend's Desert 400 at the Bahrain International Circuit.

In his first solo round win at Ford Performance Racing, and his first solo win in 2006, Bright drove perfectly to take honours at the inaugural Desert 400. Despite leaving the Broadmeadows operation to assist his own team in 2007, Bright has proven that the FPR Falcon is a capable machine over a full weekend and, had it not been for several accidents at the start of the year, would most likely be challenging for the championship title at the next round in Phillip Island.

But all talk after the final race today was on Ford's manufacturer title. In addition to the Clipsal 500 trophy, both the Sandown 500 and Bathurst 1000 trophies and potentially the drivers' championship, Ford has had a bumper year of results.

The success started at the Clipsal 500, when Jamie Whincup took a debut win with a consistent approach, and competitive speed onboard his #88 Betta Electrical BA Falcon.

Team Betta Electrial's success continued at the hands of Craig Lowndes - the three-time Australian Touring Car Champion claiming victory at Winton and Darwin, to give Ford a one round lead over Holden following the Red Side's two wins at Pukekohe with Mark Skaife, and Barbagallo with Steven Richards.

In a shock upset, Garth Tander won the Queensland sprint round, a huge surprise given Ford's domination at the track since 2000. Tander continued to show pace at the following rounds too, despite Lowndes adding an Oran Park victory to his cabinet.

A suspenseful Betta Electrical Sandown 500 saw Ford Performance Racing take a first up win under green conditions with Jason Bright and Mark Winterbottom teaming up in the CAT Ford to take a bumper-to-bumper win over the Toll Holden of Rick and Todd Kelly, before Craig Lowndes and Jamie Whincup steered the #888 Betta Electrical Falcon to an emphatic victory at Bathurst to take home the inaugural Peter Brock trophy.

Holden won the next two rounds at Surfers Paradise and Symmons Plains, forcing Ford to win this weekend's round in order to secure the title contested between the two marques. Bright's win give the Blue Oval a two round lead over the Lion, securing the 2006 title for the Ford faithful.

The teams' title was also decided this weekend, with the Toll HSV Dealer Team securing an insurmountable lead over their rivals to provide some joy for Holden fans.

The final championship to be decided is the drivers' title, with both Rick Kelly (Holden) and Craig Lowndes (Ford) vying for the final trophy on offer in 2006.