Ford, Chevrolet Gen3 driver swap

Supercars has continued to test the Ford Mustang and Chevrolet Camaro prototypes into the new year as it looks to finalise the homologation of the new cars.

Parity has proven to be a sticking point with Ford concerned over the Mustang's performance, both in terms of aero and engine, compared to the Camaro.

In a bid to collect data there was a critical performance comparison test held at Queensland Raceway late last month.

Details from the test have been hard to come by, with both Ford and Supercars initially remaining tight-lipped, except to say that valuable data had been sourced.

Motorsport.com has since learned that the test included a rare driver swap so that drivers from one side of the manufacturer divide could offer feedback for the other.

Sources have indicated that reigning series champion Shane van Gisbergen spent time behind the wheel of the Mustang, while Tickford Racing veteran James Courtney drove the Camaro.

What has come to light since is that Ford Performance is still dissatisfied with the relative performance of the two cars – something boss Mark Rushbrook made clear to media over the weekend.

Rushbrook did, however, outline how collaborative the process of improving parity had been with both Supercars and GM homologation team Triple Eight, which led the majority of the design work on the Gen3 platform.

As it stands more testing – including dedicated straight-line testing on a runway – could still take place before the cars are officially homologated, despite teams already starting their own testing programmes.

Blanchard Racing Team has now completed two days with its Mustang at Winton while another Ford team in homologation outfit Dick Johnson Racing shook down one of its cars at QR today.

Grove Racing and Tickford Racing are expected to have cars on track tomorrow.

The key deadline for the spec of the cars is the all-in, pre-season test at Sydney Motorsport Park on February 22.