Supercars 2023: Ford teams unite to call for changes to be able to compete with dominant Camaro
Yet another Camaro clean sweep - this time at the Darwin Triple Crown - has led Ford team bosses to plead for parity changes for their cars to be able to compete.
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Ford team bosses have united to call on Supercars to make a parity adjustment to allow the Gen3 Mustang to “compete on an even playing field” after another Camaro clean sweep at the Darwin Triple Crown.
The spotlight on parity intensified after Ford’s winless run continued as Chevrolet claimed three wins and eight of the weekend’s nine podium places at Hidden Valley Raceway.
Dick Johnson Racing veteran Will Davison was the only Ford driver to finish on the podium in Darwin when he took third on Saturday.
Cam Waters had been in a strong position to break through for Ford’s first chequered flag after taking pole on Saturday before his car erupted into flames due to a loose fuel fitting early in the race.
While the recent focus had been on engine parity, aero has now emerged as a new area of concern for the Ford teams.
Ford Performance issued a strong statement on Sunday night addressing the parity concerns, saying the Mustang team bosses “were now calling on Supercars to make a parity adjustment.”
Tickford Racing boss Tim Edwards said there was “something wrong”.
“Five cars were able to lap at the same consistent speed here in Darwin, but not one of them was a Mustang,” Edwards said.
“There is something wrong. The parity keeps getting triggered constantly. It’s six or seven races now where we’ve hit the trigger.
“Once again, we’re racing in the Mustang cup. The poor guys are driving the wheels off the cars and that’s not good for anyone.
“There are some stand-out teams on the other side, because they have beaten Triple Eight, but they are only racing against two-thirds of the field.”
Grove Racing team owner Stephen Grove said aero parity had emerged as a serious issue.
“Obviously, parity is not helping us. There is a serious parity issue with the aero of the cars that needs to be addressed,” Grove said.
“We just cannot get any life out of our rear tyres.”
In response, Supercars said it would continue to work closely with the teams on the issue ahead of the next race in Townsville.
“The technical working group will continue to work closely with both homologation teams leading into the Townsville 500,” a Supercars spokesperson said.
In Sunday’s first race, won by Triple Eight’s Broc Feeney, nine of the top 10 cars were Camaros. Tickford’s Thomas Randle was 10th.
Chevrolet occupied the first four positions in the final race, won by Matt Stone Racing’s Jack Le Brocq, with Waters finishing fifth.
Walkinshaw Andretti United team principal Bruce Stewart said the parity debate was more than “white noise”
“We’ve got awesome race pace, but you just start too far back. We can pass a lot of people, but only because we’re starting so far back,” Stewart said.
“There is a bit to play out. I think it looks and feels like a lot more than just white noise on the parity front.”
LE BROCQ TAKES FINAL RACE TO GIVE CAMAROS CLEAN SWEEP
Jack Le Brocq celebrated the second win of his Supercars career as championship leader Brodie Kostecki hit trouble in the final race at the Darwin Triple Crown in another dominant weekend for the Chevrolet Camaros.
After Triple Eight young gun Broc Feeney earlier led home a Red Bull one-two in Sunday’s opening race, Le Brocq claimed his first win since 2020 in Sydney - and Matt Stone Racing’s first win in Supercars - to capitalise from pole position.
Le Brocq’s win came after his team had to conduct rapid repairs after he suffered heavy damage to the rear of his car in the earlier race.
But the team fixed Le Brocq’s Camaro in time to get to the grid and take a start-to-finish win, handing the Chevrolets another clean sweep of the three wins at Hidden Valley, which is set to keep the Supercars parity debate alive.
Le Brocq took the win from Brad Jones Racing’s Andre Heimgartner and Feeney, who finished on the podium in all three races to strengthen his championship standing.
But there was trouble for Kostecki, who finished last after he was forced back to the garage with steering damage sustained on the opening lap.
The result cut Kostecki’s lead over Erebus Motorsport teammate Will Brown, who finished sixth, to 59 points in the championship standings.
Le Brocq was initially left searching for words after his win, but thanked his team for getting his car repaired in time to help deliver the win.
“It’s starting to sink in a little bit now, the team have done a great job all year and this Gen3 program, they have put their heart and soul into it,” Le Brocq said.
“It’s good to be able to reward them with this. It’s been coming, we’ve had the speed there, especially in qualy. But it’s good to be able to convert it into some race pace and get the first win for Matt Stone Racing.
“I just had to make sure I got off the line. It’s the first time I have been nervous in a while, I started to get butterflies.
“I think his win is definitely more special (than 2020). The first one is always nice, but it’s pretty cool to be able to get Matt Stone Racing’s first win and do it from pole.”
While Le Brocq and Mark Winterbottom claimed breakthrough wins for their teams, it was Feeney who emerged as the round winner after finishing with a first, second and third in Darwin.
The 20-year-old rising star leap-frogged teammate Shane van Gisbergen from fourth to third in the championship standings to enhance his championship credentials.
“It’s been a great weekend overall, certainly the best so far,” Feeney said.
“To get a round win is what we have been looking for and the consistency has been the standout thing for us this year that we haven’t had.
“I think we rolled in here strong and to get a first, second and third and overall round win has been awesome and that’s what we have been looking for and hopefully we can keep this momentum rolling.”
It was a strong Sunday for Heimgartner, who claimed his second podium of the day after finishing third in the earlier race.
Van Gisbergen finished fourth after starting the race from ninth and remains fourth in the championship standings.
Tickford Racing star Cam Waters was the best of the Ford’s in fifth place after a marathon effort from his team to get his scorched Mustang repaired overnight after it was engulfed in flames on Saturday.
The team had worked in the garage until 3.30am repairing the car after it was left a charred mess.
The Darwin round completed another lean round for the Ford Mustangs, who claimed one podium when Will Davison finished third on Saturday and one pole (Waters on Saturday).
But there were four Ford drivers who finished in the top-10 of Sunday’s final race - Waters, Davison (eighth), Chaz Mostert (ninth) and Todd Hazelwood (10th).
In the earlier race, Feeney claimed his fourth win of the year to lead home a Red Bull one-two to enhance his ‘Mr Sunday’ reputation.
Feeney added to his previous victories at Albert Park, Perth and Tasmania to edge closer to series leaders Kostecki and Brown.
The young star converted from pole position for a third time this year after taking the race win ahead of van Gisbergen and Heimgartner.
The next Supercars race is in Townsville in three weeks.
SUPERCARS CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS
1. Brodie Kostecki (Erebus Motorsport) 1164
2. Will Brown (Erebus Motorsport) 1105
3. Broc Feeney (Triple Eight) 1073
4. Shane van Gisbergen (Triple Eight) 1054
5. Chaz Mostert (Walkinshaw Andretti United) 985
6. Andre Heimgartner (Brad Jones Racing) 882
7. Cam Waters (Tickford Racing) 877
8. Jack Le Brocq (Matt Stone Racing) 814
9. Will Davison (Dick Johnson Racing) 802
10. David Reynolds (Grove Racing) 743
LEBROCQ IN POLE AS ‘SUPERHUMAN’ EFFORT SAVES TORCHED MUSTANG
Cameron Waters staged an impressive comeback to book himself a top-10 start for Sunday’s second race at the Darwin Triple Crown after a “superhuman” effort from the Tickford Racing squad to repair his scorched Mustang in time for qualifying.
Waters’ fightback from his scary Saturday fire came as Jack Le Brocq claimed his maiden Supercars pole position to put his Matt Stone Racing Camaro at the front of the grid for Sunday’s final race at Hidden Valley.
Triple Eight young gun Broc Feeney will start from pole position for Sunday’s opening race after earlier taking his third pole of the year.
Waters struggled in qualifying for Sunday’s first race, finishing 25th, after the Tickford crew pulled an all-nighter to repair his charred Mustang in time for the morning session.
But Waters fought back in the second qualifying session and will start from seventh on the grid for Sunday’s second race, which had seemed unlikely given the state of his burned car on Saturday night.
Feeney starts ahead of Brad Jones Racing’s Andre Heimgartner and Triple Eight teammate Shane van Gisbergen in the first race, while Le Brocq starts ahead of Heimgartner and Saturday’s Team 18 race winner Mark Winterbottom for Sunday’s second race.
Le Brocq is now hoping to convert his first pole into his second career win.
“It hasn’t really sunk in yet, I don’t know what to say,” Le Brocq said.
“Awesome job from the guys, they have done a great job this year. I think this Gen3 thing has been a bit of a shake-up for the category and great for us.
“We’ve had a fast car all weekend …hopefully we can convert it (the pole) and have a great run this afternoon.”
Tickford Racing team boss Tim Edwards earlier hailed the “superhuman” effort from the squad’s crew to repair Waters’ burned Mustang in time for Supercars qualifying.
Edwards revealed the squad had been at the garage until 3.30am repairing the car after it was left a charred mess when it was engulfed in flames early in Saturday’s opening race at the Darwin Triple Crown.
“It was a superhuman effort by the team, most of them were here until 3.30am this morning, so it was a big night and they got an hour-and-a-half-sleep,” Edwards said.
“They have changed everything, every wire in the car, every hose in the car.
“So there are inherent risks in that because it is all brand new stuff that you haven’t tested. We have done as many system checks as we can in the garage.
“There are so many things that get replaced when you have a fire. When you have an accident, it’s kind of the mechanical stuff, but when you have a fire, it gets into everything.
“So every single hose, every wire and you saw on the telecast how it blew through a hole in the firewall, so there was damage inside the cabin as well.
“Externally the car looks great ….the windscreen has got a little bit of a battle scar there, but that’s our little reminder on the outside.
“She doesn’t look as pretty underneath as she does on the surface.”
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A scary moment for our race leader.
— Supercars (@supercars) June 17, 2023
Thankfully Cam Waters has walked away #RepcoSC#Supercarspic.twitter.com/8KTsLJmEYf
Originally published as Supercars 2023: Ford teams unite to call for changes to be able to compete with dominant Camaro
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