The Supercars could be plunged into a fresh round of bickering over parity on the eve of the Bathurst 1000, with Ford teams petitioning the sport for last-minute aerodynamic changes they say are crucial to a competitive race this weekend.
A meeting of team bosses has reportedly been set down for Wednesday morning, barely 24 hours before the start of the first practice session on Thursday.
Ford is proposing a new front bar and rear wing, according to Speedcafe, to move the balance of aerodynamic pressure rearwards by adding rear downforce.
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The Blue Oval has already had new door and rear quarter panels approved for use this weekend. The new panels are 5.84 kilograms lighter than the previous specification, which will also lower the Mustang’s centre of gravity.
That in turn will eliminate the need for the Camaro to carry ballast to raise its centre of gravity for parity purposes.
The push for new aero changes comes after Chevrolet Camaro drivers locked out the top five places at the Sandown 500, albeit with two Mustangs on the second row of the grid after qualifying.
The result at the traditional Bathurst precursor has Ford teams concerned that they’ll stand no chance of attaining a podium over double the distance at Mount Panorama.
“Obviously strategy can help there, but you don’t want to rely on just trying to strategically win the race,” Tickford boss Tim Edwards told V8 Sleuth. “If things don’t pan out and there isn’t safety cars to help bring you into the race, then if you haven’t got a fast car, you’re on the back foot all day.
“You end up compromising strategy decisions that might help you, but they’re always risky. Fundamentally if you go there with a fast car, you have got half a chance.”
General Motors teams are expected to lobby against the proposed changes, with Triple Eight principal Jamie Whincup slamming the late push for new parts.
“The talk of doing aero updates for the next round is just outrageous,” he told Castrol Motorsport News. “We’ve had enough.
“We’ve given the Ford guys all year to develop, and they’re as close as they have ever been right now.”
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If the proposed modifications were to get the nod, it would be the second time the Mustang has benefited from a rear downforce boost this season, having had its rear wing and boot spoiler modified to generate higher loads following a parity inquest launched in June following a General Motors whitewash at the Darwin Triple Crown.
Several other tweaks have been made to both the Mustang and the Camaro throughout the year, in particular to transmission, to try to bring the two models into closer alignment in the first season of the Gen3 regulations.
Reviews of the changes have been mixed.
Ford had won just one race before June’s parity inquest, albeit coming after Triple Eight was stripped of its one-two finish at the season-opening race in Newcastle. The marque has won one further race since, via Anton de Pasquale on Sunday in Townsville, and has taken five pole positions in total for the year.
Disappointment over what he perceived as a lack of action from Supercars prompted Ford Performance chief Mark Rushbrook to make a veiled quit threat earlier this year.
“Am I frustrated with Supercars? Yes,” he said, per Cars Guide. “Do we evaluate our future in Supercars? We evaluate our future in every series on a very regular basis and we look for the ability to win races and championships. We don’t race if we can’t.”
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The parity review system is triggered by a performance analysis of the previous five races or of five of eight previous races.
The previous parity inquest was opened following the Darwin Triple Crown and concluded before the Townsville 500, meaning eight races have been held since the last round of aero changes were made to the Mustang.
However, in that time Ford drivers have taken two pole positions and a race victory.
The Mustang’s strong performance in Tailem Bend is considered by some to be a strong argument against the need for further in-season changes.
Despite title leader Brodie Kostecki’s domination of all three races, the Mustang teams held a 7-3 majority in the top 10 of both Sunday grids.
Mustang drivers also dominated all three podiums, finishing second and third behind the Erebus leader in all three races, and Ford squads were no worse than equally represented in the top 10 across the weekend.
Though Ford again had a majority inside the grid’s top 10 at Sandown, the race was markedly more difficult. General Motors swept the podium, and only three Mustangs appeared inside the top 10 by the end of the race, with the highest finishers Matt Payne and Kévin Estre in sixth.
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But generally the data points to a closing of the gap between the two models since the parity inquest concluded in July.
There were 15 races up to and including the Darwin Triple Crown, after which the series had its parity review process triggered. Eight races have taken place since, including the Townsville 500, the Sydney SuperNight, the Bend SuperSprint and the Sandown 500.
With 11 of 25 cars, Ford team represent 44 per cent of the 2023 grid.
QUALIFYING DATA
Qualifying gap
Before inquest: Mustang behind by 0.299 seconds
After inquest: Mustang behind by 0.188 seconds
Average best qualifying position
Before inquest: 3.47
After inquest: 2.50
Top-10 qualifiers
Before inquest: 3.93
After inquest: 5.13
RACE DATA
Average race gap
Before inquest: Mustang behind by 9.235 seconds
After inquest: Mustang behind by 4.217 seconds
Top-10 finishers
Before inquest: 3.67
After inquest: 4.00
Podium finishes
Before inquest: 11.1 per cent
After inquest: 41.67 per cent
*Note the above race data ignores Triple Eight’s double disqualification from Saturday in Newcastle to give a more accurate reflection of performance.
