Supercars 2023: Erebus Motorsport chief Barry Ryan hits out at latest Ford parity change

More parity tweaks have been approved for the Ford Mustang ahead of this weekend’s round at Sydney Motorsport Park and they have left their Camaro rivals fuming.

Series leading Erebus Motorsport chief Barry Ryan has fuelled a parity fire, hitting out at the latest changes granted to Ford for this weekend’s round at Sydney Motorsport Park as not following the “rules of our category”.

As the sport’s ongoing parity debate continues, Supercars confirmed engine tweaks for the Mustang had been approved for the Sydney SuperNight.

After testing following the last round in Townsville, a throttle body change for the Mustangs had been cleared for introduction.

The engine tweak comes after aerodynamic changes were granted to the Mustang’s ahead of the Townsville 500, which delivered Ford’s first chequered flag of the year.

Dick Johnson Racing driver Anton de Pasquale claimed Ford’s first chequered flag of the year in the second leg of the Townsville 500 earlier this month.

The initial aerodynamic changes followed an official Supercars review into parity between the Chevrolet Camaro and the Mustang, which was triggered after the round in Darwin.

Ryan, whose Camaro drivers Will Brown and Brodie Kostecki sit first and second in the Supercars standings, did not believe the Fords should be entitled to another parity adjustment until it was triggered.

“To be honest, I do not understand how Ford are getting another upgrade to anything,” Ryan said.

“In my mind, any new parity/engine adjustments (are) not based on the current rules of our category or owners agreement.

“To me a parity adjustment, be it aero or engine or anything, is something that is improving a manufacturer’s car.

“Ford had their latest parity adjustment at Townsville and should not have another one until it is actually triggered, which did not happen at Townsville.
The parity review, leading to the initial aero changes, was triggered following the final race Darwin after meeting the threshold consistently over either five consecutive races, or five of eight championship races.

Erebus Motorsport pair Will Brown and Brodie Kostecki sit first and second in the Supercars championship. Picture: Getty Images

Until Dick Johnson Racing driver Anton De Pasquale claimed a breakthrough win for Ford in the second leg of the Townsville 500, the Chevrolet Camaros had crossed the finish line first in every race of the season.

Despite the Mustang’s maiden Gen3 chequered flag, there remained concerns from Ford teams about the tyre life of their cars compared to the Camaros.

Ryan said listening to “teams or fans complain” was not a trigger for parity change.

“Supercars need to decide if they are going to follow the rules and the TRC (owner’s agreement) or not,” Ryan said.

“Listening to the manufacturers, teams or fans complain is not a trigger for a parity or engine adjustment.”
Supercars confirmed the approved changes to the Fords on Tuesday.

“Supercars can confirm that the Ford homologation team requested an Engine Specification Document (ESD) change to use an 80mm throttle body,” a spokesperson said.

“This has now been tested, verified, both on and off track, and is now approved for introduction for the Beaurepaires Sydney Supernight.”

Brown holds a seven-point lead over Kostecki in the Supercars championship with Triple Eight pair Broc Feeney and defending champion Shane van Gisbergen sitting third and fourth in the standings.

Chaz Mostert is the highest-placed Ford driver in fifth.

Originally published as Supercars 2023: Erebus Motorsport chief Barry Ryan hits out at latest Ford parity change