Supercar engine map tweaks to continue at Tasmania
By Thomas Miles
Date posted: 19 May 2023
Supercars Gen3 engine map tinkering will continue at the Tasmania SuperSprint with further refinement testing taking place in early practice.
The fourth round of the 2023 Supercars Championship will be a busy affair with just two Saturday morning practice sessions on offer before the pursuit of pole begins.
To make matters more hectic, as teams gain valuable information from their first on-track session at Symmons Plains in the Gen3 era, engine mapping testing will also take place.
With the suggestion that Ford will be getting its second engine map update of the year following yet more exhaustive ‘dyno testing’, on track testing will continue during practice at Tasmania, just like the previous round in Perth.
This was confirmed by Tickford Racing boss Tim Edwards, who said both Ford and Chevrolet will be trialling a number of ‘gear shift cut’ changes in the software before a final call is made ahead of qualifying.
Tickford Racing boss Tim Edwards fronts the media. Image: Mark Horsburgh
“There is some refinement going on this weekend and some testing is going to take place in the practice sessions, much like at Perth,” Edwards said at the team principals press conference.
“Some of the Fords run a different shift cut map to others and I believe they are doing a similar thing on the GMs as well.
“They will use practice to evaluate some differences between them and then they will make a decision before we go into qualifying.”
An issue has been reported on from the Ford drivers, who claim to be experiencing a slight hesitation or stumble when squeezing the throttle on in light application, which in-turn impacts their ability to preserve the rear tyres.
Edwards said they are searching for greater drivability from the latest engine map, which has been much harder to find with the new Gen3 engines than their predecessors.
This weekend’s testing is about shift recovery and drivability,” he continued.
“Twelve months ago you had your own engine bloke and if the driver came in and said it does not feel great halfway through the rev range, you would plug in and change a few numbers.
“You are not changing the output and performance of the engine, you are just fine tuning and adjusting what the driver feels.”
Friday practice begins at 9.30 Saturday morning at Symmons Plains.
Download the full Supercars Tasmania Round 4 Event Guide with track stats and facts and a full event schedule, plus our extensive driver profiles here
2023 Tasmania SuperSprint schedule (all times AEST)
Saturday, May 20
Practice 1: 9.00-9.30
Practice 2: 10.55-11.25
Qualifying R10: 12.55-13.45
Race 10: 15.50-16.45
Sunday, May 21
Qualifying R11: 9.50-10.05
Qualifying R12: 10.15-10.30
Race 11: 13.05-14.00
Race 12: 15.50-14.45
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