Supercars Sandown
Ford lobbying for Bathurst aero change
Ford is lobbying for a front aero change to its Supercars Mustang ahead of next month's Bathurst 1000.
Andrew van Leeuwen
Published: Sep 16, 2023, 8:23 AM
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Parity continues to be a talking point in the Supercars paddock despite a promising showing from the Mustangs last time out at The Bend.
Friday practice at Sandown was ominous for the Blue Oval brigade, with eight Camaros in the top nine in practice 1, nine Camaros in the top 10 in practice 2, and a top-eight lock-out of Camaros in practice three.
One Ford team was spruiking a deficit of three-tenths per 60 seconds as per the parity review system, which, if accurate, suggested it will be a tough weekend for the Mustang drivers.
There were more positive signs today during qualifying and the Top 10 Shootout, with Fords actually outnumbering Chevrolets by one in the dash for pole.
It was still a front-row lockout for Camaros, though, with Erebus quartet Will Brown/Jack Perkins and Brodie Kostecki/Dave Russell first and second fastest.
The slight upswing for the Ford teams came after a tweak to the shift recovery, with the cut for first and second gears reduced from 50 milliseconds to 30 milliseconds.
The shift recovery for all gears in the Chev-powered cars is 105 milliseconds.
However that may not be the only change coming with Ford pushing for an aero tweak ahead of the next month's Bathurst 1000.
Regardless of what happens in the Sandown 500 tomorrow, an official parity trigger won't come between now and the Great Race, thanks to the success seen by the Fords at The Bend.
That doesn't necessarily rule out significant changes, though, with Ford understood to be already lobbying for a front aero update in a bid to further shift the aero balance rearwards.
A new rear aero set-up was already introduced in Townsville earlier this year.
Rear tyre life and straight-line speed are thought to be the areas of biggest deficit between the Camaro and the Mustang.
The speed issues has been partially helped with offset shift cuts, however there are still concerns the Ford aero is too draggy, despite that not seeming to be the case at The Bend.
That would potentially be alleviated with the proposed updated aero.
Ford homologation team Dick Johnson Racing and Tickford Racing both trialled aero bits and pieces during a test day at The Bend on the Monday after the race meeting, including a new front bar.
DJR is also set to test again before the Bathurst 1000 which would offer another opportunity to test any new parts ahead of the Great Race.
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