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.
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)
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.
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.
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?
Jacko
Guest
Yeah 4 rounds in to the season sorry. The big question is why did the data shows some sort of discrepancy now to when they were done before the season started. Was it a malfunction or did some human error create this sad situation. Its not the mustang that is dominant its the DJR Penskie team that is dominant. Their are 2 holden teams in the top 3 and 3 in the top 5 so where is the domination by ford? 888 have won everything to win many times over the last 10 years yet nothing was done to equalise them back to the field and this is where the major appearance of deliberate bias comes from. Then of course we have Sciafe and lowndes ex Holden men for many years...Actually Lowndes is still a Holden man and current enduro driver....explain to us how this is just designed to bring parity. People say the mustang was 6-10ths faster than its nearest rival at PI but only Sm was....FC wasnt and many other Ford drivers wernt. Penrite Holden seem to be competing well but as 888 arnt competing because their engineers cant get the single spring setup worked out ford must be too fast. Its a total stuffup by the organisation that runs the sport. Thanks for the conversation tho its rare on the V8s articles
Chequered
Roar Rookie
I agree tha VASC should make the data used to make the decision public for transparency, but they aren’t making the decision based off results, but based on whether there is an inherent advantage for the Mustang over the other models. If Scott McLaughlin wins again moving forward, there won’t be more changes unless they have the data to prove that the model is quicker. Whilst it is extremely disappointing that Supercars are being reactive rather than proactive, it is better late than never. As to what happens if a Holden wins at Perth, if an inherent advantage is found changes will be made and if not, nothing will happen. Also, we are 10 races into the season, not 4 (sorry if I misunderstood you there).
Jacko
Guest
Chequered I gather V8SCs can show us this data then? And can show us the same data proving the holden didnt have a big advantage last year? If you look at last years results Holden again had 6 cars in the top ten and 4 in the top 5....This year there is 6 holdens in the top ten. Last year 888 beat everybody except SM finishing 2nd 3rd and 4th in the Championship. Its clear 888 are the big whingers and its because other teams are beating them. Its clear that if 888 whinge they get what they want. If the regulators got it "so wrong" before the season started what makes us believe they are now getting it right? This is now 2 massive changes since homoligation to slow ford down and we are 4 races down for the season. So if Scott M wins next up do they disadvantage him again? What if the holden wins at Perth? Do they then penalise them? I have been a SVG follower for years but this is not being a proactive sport it is being reactive.
Chequered
Roar Rookie
“When will the acknowledgement of individual teams’s performance occur?” The parity changes are based on data that has been analysed relating to the Mustang’s performance relative to the other models. This means, as Supercars have said themselves, that technical parity rather than sporting parity is being pursued. These changes aren’t designed to equalise DJRTP alone, but rather the equipment they are using. DJRTP will still be expected to be competitive going forward. The changes are being made due to technical data, not lap times, number of poles or wins or championship positions. Whilst it is disappointing that Supercars made mistakes in the first place, it is better to make these changes now and let the season be competitive going forward than let pre season incompetence lead to a season dominated by one manufacturer in a boring manner.
Jacko
Guest
Thanks for the article. this really makes me angry. Holden has 6 cars in the top ten and 888 are just a bunch of major whingers. Will they lose support over this? Yes is the way I see it. It looks from the outside to be a deliberate attempt to have holden as the no 1 car...no matter who else comes in to the sport. Fox has all Holden commentators and hapily explains away the changes as "needed to make cars equal"...Well Last season at the Phillip Is tract the Holden was running away from the ford yet the top nobs did nothing. Scott Mc went out and won despite the Holden being the fastest car. I have been a Supercar V8 follower for many years now starting to follow Robbie Francivic and Jim Richards first came over the ditch and started being successful & I have been a fan since. It appears its ok for holden to dominate year after year but soon as ford starts...mainly because SMs talent....then they start penalising them. Why was the controlling body so wrong in signing off the package after all the testing yet now after 4 rounds they were suddenly mistaken...That seems to point to a major incompetence in those involved. ........Again thanks for the article and allowing me to have my rant...lol