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Further Ford aero changes are a disappointment

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Roar Guru
23rd April, 2019
5

The Supercars parity debate continues to rage on, with the premier Australian touring car category announcing further aerodynamic changes to the ultra-dominant Ford Mustang, which has won nine out of the first ten races in 2019.

Ford teams DJR Team Penske and Tickford will run smaller rear-wing endplates and undergo changes to the undertray of their Mustang chassis from the next event in Perth, despite already having made alterations following centre-of-gravity testing in late March.

Ford Performance’s global director of motorsport Mark Rushbrook expressed his disappointment at these latest changes to the Mustang handed down by Supercars.

“The Mustang is an advanced, state-of-the-art Supercar, designed and built within the rules of the series,” he said in a statement.

“We are disappointed that we have had to make changes to the cars, however we respect the Supercars technical department and comply.”

Whilst in the best interests of the competition, these further changes to the Mustang racer are a positive move by Supercars.

It is the way the changes have been enforced that’s controversial.

Fabian Coulthard leads Scott McLaughlin.

The Ford Mustang — driven by the likes of Fabian Coulthard and Scott McLaughlin — has dominated the 2019 Supercars season so far. (Photo by Daniel Kalisz/Getty Images)

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Rushbrook echoed that the Mustang was homologated as is by Supercars at the end of 2018 when it was tested and ticked off alongside the competition, represented in the Holden Commodore and Nissan Altima.

“Our car was signed off and homologated by Supercars ahead of the 2019 season, however whilst we understand these changes are in the interest of the sport, we expect to run the rest of the season on-track unchanged from his specification,” he said.

Given the Mustang was signed off alongside the ZB Commodore and Altima, this decision to change the Mustang a quarter of the way through the season has sparked outrage.

Many will attribute the uproar towards the negativity from Holden teams, such as Triple Eight – teams who’ve been a dominant force in the category for more than a decade and are now vocal about Mustangs’ perceived unfair advantage.

However, the issue lies with Supercars’ decision to make such significant changes to an already homologated chassis not even midway through the year.

When will the acknowledgement of the individual teams’ performance occur?

Even after the ballast re-adjustments ahead of the Tasmania SuperSprint, DJR Team Penske still won at a circuit that was previously a stomping ground for the Holden Commodore. Scott McLaughlin’s post-race radio line of ‘the best way to shut the haters up’ spoke volumes.

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Shell V-Power’s Scott McLaughlin.

Shell V-Power’s Scott McLaughlin celebrates victory on Phillip Island. (Photo by Robert Cianflone/Getty Images)

“Mustang is run by some of the best teams in the series and that’s not technical parity, it is the sporting performance of the teams that race the car,” Rushbrook said.

Supercars remains one of the most competitive categories of motorsport in the world and that appeal is attributed greatly to the parity between the manufacturers contesting the sport.

However, this exercise with the Mustang literally having its wings clipped isn’t a strong endorsement for any prospective OEMs looking to make an entrance onto the scene.

Prior to the launch of the Mustang, Ford had withdrawn manufacturer support from Supercars at the end of 2014. Following the opportunity to bring in a two-door car with the introduction of Gen2 regulations, Ford jumped at the chance after their due diligence.

Re-igniting the Ford vs Holden rivalry – despite neither producing vehicles in Australia for sale anymore – should have been the best news for Supercars in 2019.

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But instead, it’s the opposite.

Competitive racing should and always will be at the core of Supercars, though it shouldn’t be at the detriment of a team or a manufacturer simply doing a better job than the rest of their rivals.

The onus is on the competition to raise their game.

Reigning Supercars champion Scott McLaughlin posted on Twitter: “I guess now it will just feel a whole lot better when we win again.”

And following these latest modifications to the Mustang, what’ll be said of the Blue Oval then?

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