SPEAK UP, SUPERCARS!
DJR Team Penske boss says fans deserve better explanations of changes – Photo: LAT
Supercars Risks alienating its core audience if it doesn’t do a better job of explaining in-season technical changes.
By BRUCE NEWTON
That’s the strong view of DJR Team Penske managing director and co-owner Ryan Story, who has watched the Ford Mustang slowed several times this year.
“We continue to have to earn our place in the sporting landscape and we alienate our supporters at our peril,” Story told Auto Action. “We do that when we make changes without explaining how and why, and without demonstrating the validation and decision- making behind those processes.”
“I think sometimes we try to be too politically correct and a little too nice, and a little too concerned about saying it how it is.”
The dominance of the Shell V-Power Racing Ford Mustangs of Scott McLaughlin and Fabian Coulthard this year prompted the introduction of a centre of gravity rule for all cars after the Australian Grand Prix, an aero reduction for the Fords before Perth, plus two aero modifications for the Holden Commodore ZB and one for the Nissan Altima.
The changes have been met with plenty of fan outrage on social media. The first Commodore aero mod was rolled out leading into the Darwin Supercars event in June and was not confirmed by Supercars until after the fact.
“With some of these changes, we’ve seen across the year what we have failed to do is sensibly explain how we have ended up where we have ended up to our supporters,” Story claimed.
“Whether that be Ford supporters or Holden supporters, whether that be Shell V-Power Racing Team supporters or Red Bull Holden Racing Team supporters, that is irrelevant.”
“We haven’t told the story of why we have needed to make adjustments, why we have made adjustments, why things were equal in December and not equal in May.”
Those periods are a reference to the VCAT aerodynamic test in December for the new Mustang, Commodore ZB and Nissan Altima, which was declared to be the closest ever. But by May, the Mustang was getting its rear wing, endplates and undertray clipped.
All changes made by Supercars have been in search of technical parity, the category’s underpinning racing requirement, designed to make all cars relatively even in basic spec, with the talents and skills of teams and drivers making the performance difference.
“We live and die off the back of those who attend our races and watch our races on the telly,” Story observed.
“When we misfire on that communications side and we equally misfire on the communication to key stakeholders up and down pit lane, we need to have a good hard look at how we approach some of these processes and how we manage them.”
“I think that has been a sad indictment of the sport this season.”
Story’s reference to stakeholders is significant because Ford, which returned to Supercars this year, has been shocked both locally and at the global level by the vociferous opposition to the Mustang, the way it was reported by the media and the changes the car went through despite being approved by Supercars.
“When you think about how some of these things have been written about, when you look at the scrutiny we have faced, whether it be as individual teams or as a sport across social media and all the various outlets where we can receive direct communications from the punters that pay to come through the turnstiles and change it to the right channel on race days, it’s been pretty damning,” Story lamented.
“So I think we need to do better and I think that the sport needs to do better in explaining where it is we are going and the direction we are taking.”
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