Braking News: DJR call for Supercars parity, V8 GOAT humbles young gun
DJR chief executive David Noble has declared there is “too much of a gap” between the Ford Mustangs and Chevrolet Camaros for his team to win a race win unless more is done to solve burning parity issues.
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Dick Johnson Racing chief executive David Noble has declared there is “too much of a gap” between the Ford Mustangs and Chevrolet Camaros for his team to fight for a race win unless more is done to solve the category’s burning parity issue.
After a weekend when veteran Will Davison claimed Ford’s only podium – and DJR’s first for the year – Noble said winning was a “bridge too far” for his team’s Mustangs unless there was change.
Noble’s comments came as the bosses of the Ford teams united to call on Supercars for a parity adjustment to allow the Gen3 Mustang to “compete on an even playing field” with the Chevrolet Camaros.
The Camaros continued their winning run at the Darwin Triple Crown, sweeping all three race victories.
As the boss of the Ford homologation team, Noble conceded his drivers were not in the frame for a victory at the moment.
“There is too much of a gap,” Noble said.
“You would like to think (a win is within reach for us), but I would be lying if I said I thought we were.
“I think we are still a bridge too far for us to really fight for a winning position.”
Noble said more needed to be done to investigate Ford’s parity concerns.
But he said it was also incumbent upon his squad and the Blue Oval to help get to the bottom of the issue – not just the category.
“You have just got to look at the results across the board, that would indicate we have still got to have lots of further conversations with Supercars,” Noble said.
“We have got to continue to investigate and learn the DNA of the cars. We have got our own level of responsibility on that as well, it’s not all just on Supercars.
“There is something missing still. So that’s why we have got to keep chatting to Supercars and Ford to work out what is causing some of those issues that we just can’t seem to get on top of.
“So it’s head down, bum up and we’re just going to continue to work and have conversations and get better.”
Despite the Mustang’s struggles, Noble believed Davison, who had a third and eighth-place finish in Darwin, was one of the form drivers of the field.
“I think he is driving exceptionally well at the moment,” Noble said.
“Up and down the pit lane, I think he is one of the form drivers.”
V8 GOAT keeping young gun in check
Broc Feeney appears to be on a rapid trajectory in just his second fulltime season in Supercars, but Triple Eight team principal Jamie Whincup is doing his best to keep expectations in check for the young gun.
Feeney emerged as the round winner on points at the Darwin Triple Crown, taking his fourth race win for the year and claiming two other podiums.
The 20-year-old outperformed his highly-credentialed teammate Shane van Gisbergen and leapfrogged the triple Supercars champion to move to third in the drivers’ standings.
Feeney finished sixth in his first season in 2022 after stepping into seven-time Supercars champion Whincup’s famous No.88 seat, but his current form has him emerging as a title contender this year.
Asked if he was surprised at how rapidly Feeney had developed in his second year, Whincup joked Feeney needed to “lift his game a bit”.
“Broc is going OK, you know. He needs to lift his game a little bit here and there, he is a bit shabby around the edges, but he is certainly on track, for sure,” Whincup said.
“It is always a risk to put an 18-year-old in a car, but we had full faith – give him all the tools to do the job and he is slowly growing.
“To be a race winner is one thing, you have got to get to that point where you can win races, but winning a championship is another thing as well.
“So, he is well and truly on track.”
Whincup later added it was his job to make sure Feeney didn’t get “ahead of himself”.
“I was just sitting here thinking I was pretty harsh to you, Broc, sorry mate,” Whincup said.
“But my job is to make sure Broc doesn’t read his own press and get too far ahead of himself.
“Obviously, he is doing an unbelievably good job, no one is doubting that, but I am trying to calm it all down at the same time.”
Feeney cut the gap to series leader Brodie Kostecki from 191 points to 91 points over the Darwin round.
Racing Roosters
While the Ford squads protest Gen3 parity, team owner Brad Jones is one who is celebrating the racing the new era has brought.
This Darwin round delivered breakthrough wins for Team 18 (Mark Winterbottom) and Matt Stone Racing (Jack Le Brocq), while Jones also relished a pair of podiums for his leading driver, Andre Heimgartner.
Jones believed this year’s racing had been opened right up.
“It’s great to be able to come to races and not know who is going to win,” Jones said.
“I think that has been fantastic for everyone, for the teams, for the fans and for us to be part of that is exciting.
“It has been a really good weekend for us. We have come off a pretty tough weekend in Tasmania and to have Andre have two podiums and have three cars in the top-10 (Sunday) morning has been fantastic.
“It doesn’t take much to go from a rooster to a feather duster, you can be right at the pointy end in one race and then you can be 19th or 20th (the next).
“I think it’s great at the moment.”
Originally published as Braking News: DJR call for Supercars parity, V8 GOAT humbles young gun
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