MIXED RESPONSE TO GEN3 TIMING
The Supercars paddock has reacted with a mixture of acceptance, resignation, scepticism and hostility to the proposed introduction of the new Gen3 technical ruleset mid-season in 2022.
The move to entirely replace the grid with a new generation of racing cars mid-championship is virtually unprecedented in world motorsport.
Gen3 was scheduled for introduction for the start of the 2022 season, but has now been shifted back because of the impact of the COVID pandemic on design, testing and build timelines.
News of this possibility broke about a month ago and was confirmed by Supercars in a short statement issued on Friday afternoon, June 4.
The debut of the Chevrolet Camaro and new Ford Mustang – not officially announced but confirmed to media by Supercars – is now set down for the Sydney SuperNight event in August 2022.
The debut is being turned into “a gala event” according to one Auto Action source.
Commercial considerations are understood to have played a key role in the mid-season introduction, rather than rolling all the way back to 2023.
Supercars has confirmed Destination NSW has a contractual right to host the launch of the new cars, but other commercial pressures such as agreements with broadcasters FOX and Seven have also been hinted at.
The views within teams is that the August introduction now eases any issues about completing and testing cars and building up spares inventories in time for their debut.
The debate now centres on whether the change-over should happen because of the potential influence it could have on the championship outcome.
If the technical parity between the Camaro and Mustang is not right when they debut that would hand any advantage to drivers of the faster car. You only have to look to 2019 and the introduction of the Gen2 Mustang to understand there is precedent for such an occurrence.
Alternatively, individual teams may not get a handle on the new car in terms of reliability or speed as quickly as others, again affecting the championship position of drivers.
Tickford Racing team principal Tim Edwards acknowledged the potential impact of Gen3’s introduction on the 2022 championship’s course.
“You might find there is a runaway leader in the 2022 championship,” he said. “But there is a fair chance when we go to Gen3 it will disrupt what I would call the normal pecking order and potentially spice up the championship.
“From a teams’ point of view it could be frustrating because you might be that runaway leader, but we all have to take a step back and not be selfish and think about ourselves.
“You can’t shy away from the fact it [a mid-season introduction] is a bit unorthodox but all of the teams have bought into this, all of the teams are onboard with doing it then.”
But Supercars team owner, commission member and board member Brad Jones wasn’t sounding like he had ‘bought in’ when contacted by AA.
Asked his view of the mid-season introduction and what opportunities or challenges it presented to Brad Jones Racing, his emailed reply was to the point.
“It [Gen3 introduction] hasn’t happened yet … There will be a lot [of challenges] but as I said above I’ll start to look at it once it looks certain and the cars are built.”
AA made contact with every Supercars team via phone, email or both about the Gen3 introduction timeline.
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