What is deemed as ‘Fair’

It has been a fantastic start to the 2019 Virgin Australia Supercars Championship for the new Ford Mustang and especially the Shell V-Power Racing Team of Scott McLaughlin and Fabian Coulthard who have won 8/10 races this season.  (Tickford Racing (Ford Mustang) have won one and Triple Eight Race engineering (Holden) the other race).  Can this be seen as unfair?

In essence, Ford have built a car within the rules but it is too quick and winning too many races.  (Let’s not forget that the car was signed off and homologated by Supercars ahead of the 2019 season).

In the interests of parity and closer competitive racing (so not to turn off the fans), Supercars have instructed that the Ford Mustang must undergo aerodynamic changes before next weekend’s round in Perth.  See Mustang aero changes confirmed.

It is the second time that the Ford Mustang has been made to undertake changes in order to ‘slow’ it down.  Supercars deemed that both the Ford and Holden Commodore had a center of gravity advantage hence ballast was added to their roof before the Tasmania round – 28kg on the Ford compared to 6.7kg for the Holden.

Now modifications are to be made with the reduction in the dimensions of the end plate, lowering the height of the rear wing gurney flap and a reduction in length of the front under-tray extension.

So what do we deem as fair?

Working within the rules is fair?

Supercars obviously see that ‘tweaking’ the parity is fair.

What is unfair is that it is done during the competitive season.  This can lack transparency as we really don’t know how politics has influenced any decision.

Any changes should be made and agreed upon for the next season. Supercars are now at risk of tarnishing a good reputation.  Teams are likely to think that any advantage that they make in the future could be stymied in the name of parity! So why not just have a one-make class and be done with it!

Good and successful championships are about consistency for all stakeholders (and this includes fans).

Currently leading the championship points table, Scott McLaughlin sees this as extra motivation “Nothing like fire in the belly”

Ford statement

Mustang Supercar Teams to Modify Mustang Ahead of Pirtek Perth SuperNight at the Request of the Supercars Technical Department

 – Supercars exercises Technical Parity rules on Mustang Supercars, requests changes to the aerodynamic package
 – Supercars Mustang teams, committed to proving their capabilities, will comply with requirements and update their cars in time for the Pirtek Perth SuperNight event, 2-4 May 2019.
 – Mustang was approved and signed off at the Supercars Controlled Aerodynamic Test (VCAT 9) by all homologating teams (DJR Team Penske, Triple Eight Race Engineering and Kelly Racing) in the closest results ever measured at any prior VCAT
 – Mustang was designed and built within the rules, with every component and part approved by Supercars before being manufactured, tested, homologated by Supercars and ultimately raced in the 2019 season

The Ford Performance Mustang Supercar will undergo aerodynamic modifications ahead of Round 5 of the 2019 Virgin Australia Supercars Championship in Perth as requested by the Supercars technical department. The changes are being made by exercising technical parity rules, which require any vehicle new to the series, regardless of legality, be brought back to incumbent vehicles in the interest of competitive racing.

“The Mustang is an advanced, state-of-the-art Supercar, designed and built within the rules of the series. We are disappointed that we have had to make changes to the cars, however we respect the Supercars technical department and will comply,” said Mark Rushbrook, Global Director of Motorsport, Ford Performance.

The changes to the Ford Mustang Supercar are specific to the rear wing and undertray. Most notably, the size of the rear-wing endplates will be reduced, while the Gurney flap will be reduced in height and undertray in length.

“We will make these changes ahead of the next round so we can quickly understand the affect they’ll have on Mustang to give us the best chance of maintaining our pace,” said Rushbrook. “Mustang is run by some of the best teams in the series and that’s not technical parity, it is the sporting performance of the teams that race the car.”

“Our car was signed off and homologated by Supercars ahead of the 2019 season, however whilst we understand these changes are in the interest of the sport, we expect to run the rest of the season on track unchanged from this specification.”