GEN3 NOW AIMED AT 2022½

Supercars teams have agreed to a phased introduction of Gen3 next year if necessary.

The new Camaro and Mustang racers could be held back until well into the 2022 season if design and development delays continue.

Another impediment is Ford’s reluctance to back a mid-term change just months before introducing a new-look Mustang road car for 2023.

Desperate to avoid a call-off until 2023, AUTO ACTION has learned that Supercars has offered teams a compromise changeover during the next season to allow them more time to prepare.

At Tuesday’s summit in Sydney, team owners were briefed by Supercars supremo Sean Seamer on Gen3’s progress following growing complaints of a lack of information.

The meeting was attended by almost all team bosses, either in person or via video conference.

Amid strict secrecy, AA understands all but a few team owners were at the gathering.

Remote attendees are believed to have included Walkinshaw Andretti United co-owner Ryan Walkinshaw, who is in hotel quarantine in Sydney.

Team 18 chief Charlie Schwerklolt couldn’t participate because of pre-existing commitment at the Melbourne headquarters of his Waverley Forklifts empire.

Team owners were told not to divulge the content of the discussions to the media as Supercars continues to try to control the Gen3 narrative.

Inevitably, there have been leaks because of dissatisfaction with the proposed timeline.

Supercars is still pushing for Gen3 from the start of next season at the revived Newcastle 500 in late February, but has now allowed that the design may not be ready in time.

Teams want to avoid a rushed build over the summer, which will only increase the already mounting costs.

According to informed sources, Seamer conceded the tight timing and offered the option of a delayed in-season introduction.

How that would be managed was not explained.

“We were told it could happen sometime into next season if it’s not ready at the start,” a team owner said. “There was an acknowledgement that they want to do it properly, but Sean ruled out delaying Gen3 till 2023.

“He is adamant it has to go ahead sometime next year.”

While team owners agreed to work towards 2022, most still believe putting off Gen3 till ’23 was the most sensible and most cost-effective plan.

They doubt the aim of halving the cost of each car to $350,000 will be achieved, especially with new, supposedly cheaper V8 engines.

There is also the ongoing debate about whether to adopt electronic paddle gear shifting.

As revealed by AUTO ACTION, the teams have received CAD drawings and specifications for the basic Gen3 chassis.

As also exposed by AA, if bought in kit form, the tubular steel frame will cost close to $55,000.

That is a saving of up to $15,000 on the current chassis – although as one team owner pointed out, after the initial investment, the annual saving will be negligible if overall costs aren’t contained.

Several team owners fear the new engines, electronic upgrades and new production-shape composite body panels will send initial costs soaring.

There is also intelligence that Ford is not willing to invest in development of a new Supercars Mustang until the Gen3 change is finalised.

A new road-going Mustang – code-named S650 – is due in ’23 and Ford wants an assurance the existing shape will be good for all of next year before committing.

Otherwise, it is threatening to lock in the existing design for 2022 – or sit out the season if forced to run an interim partial season Gen3 version.

Ideally, amid all the delays and confusion, Ford wants Gen3 postponed to ’23 so its new racer looks like the next-gen Mustang road car.

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