Supercars 2023: Dick Johnson Racing chief David Noble says there is a “sense of urgency” to resolve Supercars’ parity issues

Supercars’ parity debate continues to simmer after Ford’s baron start to the year as Dick Johnson Racing chief David Noble warned there was now a sense of urgency to “get it right.”

Dick Johnson Racing chief executive David Noble has warned there is a “massive sense of urgency” to resolve Supercars’ parity dramas as he addressed his team’s struggles ahead of a critical in-season test for the Ford squad.

The debate over parity continues to hover over the Supercars championship following a winless start to the Gen3 era for the Blue Oval.

Chevrolet Camaros have taken the chequered flag in all 12 races this year, but Tickford Racing’s Cam Waters was named the race one winner in Newcastle after Triple Eight’s technical disqualification.

The spotlight on the parity issue shone again after the Fords failed to score a podium in the last round at Symmons Plains in Tasmania as Erebus stepped up its championship bid.

Ford’s homologation team in Supercars, the DJR squad’s drivers Will Davison and Anton De Pasquale are yet to score a podium in 2023.

After four rounds, Davison sits ninth and De Pasquale 18th in the championship standings.

Shell V-Power Racing Team Anton de Pasquale Ford Mustang GT in action at the Australian Grand Prix. Picture: David Caird

While Noble did not want to blame parity solely for the team’s struggles, he said the results indicated there was still work to be done.

“We are not going to shy away from the fact that we’ve been in the battle with the other Ford teams to get it better,” Noble said.

“There is some recognition that Supercars have continued to work, particularly with us as the homologation team, and I think we worked hard behind the scenes to continue to push those narratives to Supercars to chase parity.

“It’s moving, it’s probably moved too slow, but it is moving.

“There are things that I think they could have acted on quicker, but then there are reasons that they may not (have) as well.

“I think overall they are trying. I would like to think that they understand there is a massive sense of urgency to get this right as soon as we can.

“It’s a results based process, if you look at the number of times (Ford has been) on podium …. then you would think there needs to be that sense of urgency.”

Ford’s initial concerns surrounding aerodynamics were eased on the eve of the season, but engine performance remains a point of contention.

It’s understood a trial of new engine mapping is likely to continue at next month’s round in Darwin, while a beefed up testing program for the Camaro and Mustang engines will take place later this year using a transient dyno in Melbourne.

A Supercars spokesperson said the series would “continue to work closely with both homologation teams leading into next month’s Darwin Triple Crown”.

Will Brown driver of the #9 Coca-Cola Racing Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 during race 3 of the Tasmania Supersprint, part of the 2023 Supercars Championship Series at Symmons Plains Raceway on May 21, 2023 in Hobart, Australia. (Photo by Daniel Kalisz/Getty Images)

While Noble felt the Mustang’s gap to the Camaros was closing, he said the Ford teams did not have the consistency of engine performance to challenge for wins.

“If you look across the paddock, the hardest thing for the Ford teams – I don’t want to talk for the others – is the consistency to be able to repeat those laps time after time after time to get us in a position to win,” Noble said.

“How far are we off? Each race weekend we seem to be getting closer.

“I’d like to be able to confidently say that we are going to Darwin with the sense of believing that we can win races, but I’m not sure, we won’t know until we get through Thursday (test day) as a starting point.”

Noble said Thursday’s in-season test at Queensland Raceway was critical for the squad to gather data to help drive solutions for a form revival.

“It’s a significant day because (it allows us to) understand better setups, get to understand the DNA of the car, which you can generally only do in racing,” Noble said.

“We didn’t get anywhere near (the information) we needed to at the beginning of the year, so to have this now it comes at a really important time for us.

“Where we’re at, it’s something that we are not accustomed to, that’s for sure.

“But I think it’s just great learning for our people to have a need to continue to search for answers, come up with solutions all the time.”

Originally published as Supercars 2023: Dick Johnson Racing chief David Noble says there is a “sense of urgency” to resolve Supercars’ parity issues