Supercars News: Inside last gasp attempt to bridge the gap between next generation Chevrolet Camaro and Ford Mustang
A rural NSW airstrip is the scene of a last-gasp attempt to bridge the gap between two cars as the single biggest shake-up in V8 history is put under the microscope.
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The scramble to restore parity to Supercars’ ambitious Gen3 rollout is under way.
A rural NSW airstrip is the scene of a last-gasp attempt to rectify the worrying performance gap between the next generation Chevrolet Camaro and Ford Mustang in time for the Supercars season opener on March 10.
The streets of Newcastle await but just days out from race week, the single-biggest shake-up in Supercars history is under the microscope.
By some paddock stopwatches the Mustang is lapping up to eight-tenths slower than the Camaro – a claim that was seemingly corroborated at the official test day in Sydney last week.
Chevrolet teams dominated the testing timesheet, leading Supercars to immediately schedule a Vehicle Control Aerodynamic Test (VCAT) over fears its mooted even playing field was anything but.
Brad Jones Racing driver Macauley Jones had thought his pre-season over after putting his Camaro through its paces in Sydney. Instead he was booked for the first day of the hastily organized VCAT at Temora, which began on Monday.
#Gen3#repcosc#v8sc aerodynamic mule testing at the airport, they look and sound amazing pic.twitter.com/SRV8ahIqD8
— Mike (@bikeymikey70) February 27, 2023
Super 2 Series newcomer Cooper Murray was put in the seat of the Mustang as side-by-side engine analysis got under way, with aerodynamic testing to come later in the week.
The goal? Bring the blue badge up to speed, or the Chevy back to the pack, in time for one of the most anticipated season openers in Supercars history.
“As part of our ongoing efforts to provide the best racing product possible for our fans and teams, we will be conducting additional straight line evaluations this week to validate the current specifications of the new Gen 3 Chevrolet Camaro and Ford Mustang ahead of their debut in Newcastle on March 10,” a Supercars spokesperson told News Corp.
“These tests will be conducted in a strictly controlled manner to ensure that all parties are treated fairly and equitably. We are committed to transparency and collaboration throughout this process, consistent with the accredited Homologation process.”
“Our goal is to ensure that the new Gen 3 Chevrolet Camaro and Ford Mustang meet the highest standards of safety, performance, and competitiveness. We look forward to delivering an exciting and competitive racing season in 2023.”
The radical change in regulations has reinvigorated the category, with hundreds of fans braving the rain last week to catch a glimpse of the new cars in action at Eastern Creek.
With a drastically new looking car and the promise of more competitive racing, there is optimism within the paddock and stands that Shane van Gisbergen will not have it all his own way in 2023.
However, those who would claim to be challengers to the Kiwi’s title – going off 2022 form – are all driving the Mustang, while the reigning champion has the best team and, seemingly, best car at his disposal.
And for Triple Eight it was business as usual on Monday, with sophomore sensation Broc Feeney hitting the track at Queensland Raceway for his final pre-season laps before Newcastle.
“Last day in the car so (we) just want to make sure we nail everything in our plan today and make sure I’m super comfortable before we head to Newcastle. It’s come around quick but we’re certainly ready to go,” Feeney said.
“Taking these new cars there for the first time it’s going to be pretty hard work – at this point it’s anyone’s game.
“Hopefully we can have a good start to the year and crack on for the rest of 2023.”
Van Gisbergen will take his No.96 Camaro to QR on Tuesday alongside Dick Johnson Racing, Matt Stone Racing and PremiAir Racing rivals, while the Victorian-based Supercars teams head to Winton on Wednesday for their final pre-season laps.
But with teams organizing their own backyards ahead of the opener in Newcastle, one eye will be on the airstrip at Temora and results from the VCAT that could have serious ramifications for the Gen3 supercar’s maiden season.
The potential ‘parity problem’ coming to Supercars in 2023
Supercars, we may have a parity problem.
Andre Heimgartner laid down an early marker in favour of the Chevrolet Camaro after clocking the fastest time in both sessions at the Supercars official test day on Wednesday.
All eyes were on reigning champion Shane van Gisbergen and what pace he would set in the new Gen3 supercar, but it was his Kiwi compatriot at Brad Jones Racing who turned in the top laps of the day at Eastern Creek.
Wednesday’s all-in test did little to dispel the paddock rumour that the Camaro is lapping much faster than the Mustang, with the former dominating the top of the time sheet.
In the wet-dry morning session, the BJR No. 8 Camaro of Heimgartner ran more than a second quicker than the field, clocking 1:29.8269 – just 0.0669 slower than Anton de Pasquale’s Q1 pacesetter at the same track last year.
He lowered that to 1:29.6787 in the afternoon and by the time pit lane went quiet, Heimgartner’s BJR teammate Macauley Jones had joined Erebus duo Will Brown and Brodie Kostecki – all driving Camaros – at sub-1:30.
Bryce Fullwood, van Gisbergen and Jack Smith made it a Chevrolet top seven, with Team 18 veteran Mark Winterbottom the fastest Mustang of the afternoon at 1:30.6914.
As with all pre-season tests, the timesheet can be irrelevant for some teams who are simply focusing on getting their setups correct.
However, with no further test days before the season opener in Newcastle, it was crucial for BJR to get things right on Wednesday and the on-track product looked promising.
“Imagine telling a footballer he can only do three days (of training) before the first round – it’s a funny mix in motorsport,” mused Jones to News Corp of the limited pre-season testing opportunities.
“But I feel like we are more prepared (than beforehand). We kinda know the characteristics of the car and what direction we want to go in.
“Now we’re done with our test days but I feel we’re somewhat comfortable. Andre was fastest in the morning group which is always a good sign. He feels pretty comfortable and we’ve got some good direction from that.
“The time we’ve got up until Newcastle we’ll need to use every minute of it to make sure we’re ready to race.”
Supercars CEO Shane Howard said the sport would conduct further testing next week to determine if there are issues with differences between the Camaro and Mustang to ensure parity for the season start.
“Supercars can confirm additional straight line evaluations will be conducted next week to validate the current specifications of the new Gen 3 Chevrolet Camaro and Ford Mustang ahead of their debut in Newcastle on March 10,” Howard said.
“These final tests have been jointly developed between the respective Manufacturers, their Homologation Teams and Supercars, as an agreed pathway to ensure best practice finalisation of the specification of both vehicles. The results of these evaluations will help us to provide the best racing product for all our stakeholders and importantly our passionate fans.
“We have been extremely pleased with the way the Teams have utilised the flexible testing regime that has been rolled out over recent weeks, with over 10,000km of shakedown and test laps completed in the Camaros and Mustangs.
“As we approach the biggest change our sport has ever undertaken, it is imperative that we continue to validate the new Supercars relative performance as Parity is a cornerstone of the continued success of our Sport.
“The tests will be strictly controlled to ensure all parties are treated fairly and equitably, in a transparent and collaborative manner, consistent with the accredited Homologation process to ensure that we provide the best racing product possible.
“We take our responsibility to our fans, teams, and all stakeholders very seriously and therefore believe that this validation testing will only strengthen our process moving forward.”
With the 2023 wet tyres still to arrive from overseas, more than a few drivers felt the early running was a waste of time.
Team 18 and Erebus didn’t even touch the track until it had dried enough to lap on softer tires.
But Jones welcomed the chance to get a feel for the Camaro, regardless of the conditions.
“Anytime you can drive the car is good. We’re learning all the little things about them,” he said.
“I probably felt a bit awkward after the first (shakedown) at Winton – awkward is one word for it.
“When you’ve been driving something for five or six years and then it’s completely different, you have all these little habits you need to break so that’s been quite a fun challenge for me.”
The rain was less of an issue for Tickford veteran James Courtney, who will have another opportunity to test the No. 5 Ford Mustang next week alongside rookie teammate Declan Fraser, who missed Wednesday’s session due to illness.
Cam Waters and Thomas Randle both put down their final laps before Newcastle.
“It sort of feels like home now,” Courtney said of the new Mustang.
“Ergonomically it’s quite different but that (familiarity) comes as you do more laps.
“The more we drive this, the less we reminisce about how nice the old car was and how much faster the old car was.
“This is our new fast, so we’ve just got to deal with it and move forward.”
Attention now turns to the opening round in Newcastle on March 10.
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Originally published as Supercars News: Inside last gasp attempt to bridge the gap between next generation Chevrolet Camaro and Ford Mustang
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