There was no shortage of intrigue surrounding the new ZB Commodore on debut in the Supercars championship, with plenty of that intrigue generated by rival teams discussing a potential advantage all Holden teams have with the car.
In a game of inches, everything counts, and if the shoe was on the other foot you can rest assured leading Holden teams would be posing the same questions.
The issue, they say, is that the Commodore Supercars variant is made of all composite materials, other than the driver’s door skin, which is steel.
Nissan and Ford have steel roofs and steel bonnets, much the same as the road car variant.
I was asked recently what the problem was, given the rules mandate the cars must be a minimum weight. The issue is how that minimum weight is achieved.
Given Commodore doesn’t have the big, heavy steel roofs and bonnets the other cars have, it means they would very much come in under that weight and as such they must add lead to meet the minimum weight requirements. As such, they are going to place the lead as low as possible.
This means the Ford and Nissans have a higher centre of gravity, while the new Commodore has a lower centre of gravity – and in a race car going around corners at high speed, that is an advantage.
Until last year, DJR Team Penske and Tickford Racing had steel rear light housings, having received permission to build composite martial rear light housings due to being unable to obtain originally engineered rear light housings from the manufacturer. That provides no benefit.
So DJR Team Penske say their weight is much higher and that can place them at a disadvantage in the corners over the new Commodore. On Saturday, post-race Supercars technical officials weighed every component once again.
DJR Team Penske has proposed making a submission to Supercars to be able to manufacture composite material roofs and bonnets so as they are in line with the new Commodore and everything is fair. This, however, is unlikely given the FGX Falcon is reaching the end of its lifespan.
In a way, the fuss is fair and valid. However, while the lower centre of gravity is an advantage, it does not mean the rest of the field is lagging behind and unable to match the Holden teams in regard to pace.
There will be tracks that potentially suit the Holdens better and the rest of the field may need to work that much harder to find the right set up. But so be it. As a Ford fan, I am not overly concerned about it – credit should be given to Triple 8 and the like for not only designing the Supercars variant, and providing the panels to all the other teams, but also for being able to develop a damn good car.
Congratulations to them, they have done a great job, an illustration as to why they have been the benchmark of the competition for the better part of a decade.
That said, I also don’t blame the rest of the competition for kicking up a stink. It is their job to do that and you should expect no less.
However, those teams should bear in mind the real task for the Holden teams and challenge is next year, when the new V6 turbo is introduced full time into the series.
No car or team has a single advantage that is going to make them run away from the rest of the field. The racing still promises to be as close as ever, so it is game on.
Let’s just hope this doesn’t continue to dominate headlines all season long.
Jason Crawford
Roar Rookie
Thank you Jawad. I expect it to be a major topic of discussion for at least a third of the season. Each round and different circuit is going to see the performance of the Commodore scrutinised, and as such the whole debate about potential advantages will arise. It hopefully will dissipate in time as teams like DJR Team Penske win races and perform etc. One thing that must be noted in that debate is that whilst as you rightly point out the Ford teams don’t traditionally do well at Clipsal their struggles were related more to set up and car balance then anything else. At various stages the Ford’s of McLachlan, Winterbottom and Mostert were matching the lap times of the leading Holden’s. For example as we know McLachlan was a major player in the Sunday race and every chance to win it if not for his tyre issue, and Mostert in the last stint on 6 lap older tyres was matching the leading cars lap times pound for pound. A tenth was all that seperated them here and there, sometimes he was a tenth up and sometimes a tenth down and on 6 lap older tyres that says something. It is absolutely a shame Ford could not or wouldn’t provide the same commitment to the sport. And it is frustrating. Ford have made some ridiculous decisions regarding the sport in recent history. They should be wanting to ensure the blue oval remains represented in the sport, and not want to risk losing big names Roger Penske to another manufacturer in the sport. I don’t believe in the end Ford will be entirely lost to the sport however as I believe Tickford Racing will remain racing Ford’s. I think they have backed themselves into a corner ( and I don’t necessarily mean that in a bad way) in that regard with the team launching Tickford as a business. It does not make commercial sense for them to run another manufacturer in the sport whilst having a business based around Ford performance. It is ridiculous as you will know that Ford could not commit to the offer provided by Ford dealers. Where they said they will financially support and back the teams running a Mustang if Ford matched the financial amount. To me that is the perfect deal, as it means they are not locked into covering the entire amount they only need provide half essentially. It will be interesting to see what happens in that regard. I know both teams are committed to trying to run the Mustang but they want Ford to assist them in that regard, as they are having trouble making the body fit on the chassis. I have heard that if they remain with Ford and can’t do the Mustang a Mondeo could be the direction they head in. Not sure how true that is, but I truly hope not. It has to be the Mustang. I think you are right the Ford’s will come on strong at Albert Park, and I think Tickford are going to be a real player this season. The only question is if they can do it on a consistent basis to take it to Red Bull and DJR Team Penske
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Great explanation Jason, I certainly hope so too that this isn't a topic that dominates the headlines all season. Given that the ZB required more composite materials to fall within the regulations to be able to race, it can be understood from that perspective. It is just a shame that Ford weren't able to make the same commitment as Holden to the category, moving forwards into the Gen2 era. As you say, the ZB runners by next year will likely have the V6-twin turbo on board, thus presenting a new challenge. Whilst who knows what the Ford teams will be running, if even they stick with the Blue Oval. Adelaide is traditionally a circuit that the Falcon has struggled, so I do believe come Albert Park we'll see DJR Team Penske having a more consistent weekend and hopefully Tickford's off-season advances will come to light too.