Triple Eight founder questions public criticism from Ford of Gen3 parity

Triple Eight founder Roland Dane has hit out at comments from Ford about parity with the new Gen3 cars being introduced into Supercars this season.

The new version of the Ford Mustang will do battle with the Chevrolet Camaro on track in 2023, with teams currently undertaking their first tests with the new machines ahead of the season opener in Newcastle next month.

Prototype versions of both cars have been undergoing testing for some time but Ford was reported to be unhappy with the results of Vehicle Control Aerodynamic Tests that were carried out late last year.

Concerns have also been raced about parity between the respective engines, with Mark Rushbrook – the global boss of Ford Performance – explaining his position in a call with media in which he admitted there were ‘challenges’ still to be faced ahead of round one.

“I think the industry has heard that as a manufacturer, and aligned completely with all of our racing teams, that we are not satisfied that parity has been reached either for engine or aero,” he was quoted by V8 Sleuth.

“That goes back to some of the VCAT testing that was done, and when we left there not satisfied that parity had been achieved and also, more recently, with some of the testing, comparative testing that was done on track that the acceleration of the cars down the straightaway is not equivalent.

“Certainly (there) are some concerns there, but we’re working together in a very transparent, collaborative way, just like we do in all other racing series around the world, with the series and with Triple Eight as a competitor, as the lead (Chevrolet) homologation team, to find solutions for that.

“While there are certainly challenges in front of us, we believe the series understands the urgency that’s required – Newcastle’s not too far away – and that we’re looking forward to a solution to be able to race with parity across both brands.”

However, Dane – writing in his regular column for Speedcafe.com – responded to Rushbrook’s comments by insisting that any issues surrounding parity between the two new models should be dealt with behind closed doors and that Supercars should be trusted to ensure that it makes the right calls.

“The appalling public undermining of the Supercars parity process by Mark Rushbrook last week was bad for the Sport, bad for Ford and bad for him. He should know better,” Dane said.

“Whatever he thinks of the Supercars parity process, and/or the results it has produced in relation to Gen3, he cannot help the situation by resorting to the ugly public intimidation of the Australian premier championship organisers from the other side of the Atlantic.

“Supercars and its parity system may not be perfect, but it has, over many years, produced some of the best Touring Car racing on the planet. By all means seek to cross-examine the process behind closed doors and to be proactive in helping to suggest improvements, but to attack and undermine Supercars so publicly achieves little but resentment here in Australia towards people who sit far away.”

Revealing an incident that took part during VCAT testing back in 2020 – where the session had to be extended following discrepancies in the data from the Gen2 Mustang that were linked to excessive pumping of the brakes before each run – Dane added that it was important for everyone to come together for the benefit of the sport and that further data should be examined once racing has got underway to determine if changes are required.

“The resulting VCAT [in early 2020] has given us three years of very competitive racing with one championship won by a Ford driver and two by a Holden one,” he said. “As have many VCAT and engine parity tests in the past. Perfect? Maybe not, but pretty effective for the most part in producing some great racing over the last 20 years plus. And done within the means of this country.

“Having someone from Ford (in America) undermine the work done here so openly and publicly was neither helpful nor constructive. We are all entitled to have some legitimate questions about the parity work carried out, but let’s knuckle down, build the cars and get on track in a united way.

“The sensible way to approach this is to get three race meetings under the belt (Newcastle, the AGP and Perth – all different tracks and environments) and then examine the real time data. If actions need to be taken (as they were in early 2019 over the centre of gravity issues, for instance) then that is the time.”