Ford team owners crying out for parity adjustment

Nick Percat Cam Waters Todd Hazelwood at darwin 2023

By Thomas Miles

Date posted: 19 June 2023

After a weekend in which two win-less Chevrolet teams scored breakthrough triumphs, Ford team owners are desperate for a parity adjustment to fix a “serious issue”.

With Mark Winterbottom, Broc Feeney and Jack Le Brocq sharing the wins, the Darwin Triple Crown was the fifth time in as many rounds Ford did not take a win on the track.

All up just six Fords filled the 30 top 10 results on offer across the three races at Hidden Valley, while the tight qualifying sessions were similarly one sided.

Of course it could have been so much different for the “Blue Oval” on Saturday. Tickford star Cameron Waters took pole position and actually spoke encouragingly about the pre-event changes before controlling the opening laps of Saturday’s sprint.

But his dream of taking Ford’s first on-track win of the season went up in flames on Lap 4 and a Ford never got close to challenging for victory across the remainder of the weekend.

Read why one of the biggest names in the sport believes there is not a parity issue in the latest issue of AUTO ACTION.

Cameron Waters celebrates his first pole of the year with his Tickford team. Image: Mark Horsbrugh

Big names such as David Reynolds, Chaz Mostert and James Courtney battled towards the rear end of the field having struggled for qualifying speed.

Waters was able to give himself and the Ford fans something to cheer about by the end of the weekend, finishing fifth as the top Mustang in the final race, while Will Davison was able to get Dick Johnson Racing’s maiden podium of a tough 2023 on Saturday.

Despite this, there is still an even mix in the championship with four of the top 10 drivers racing a Mustang with Mostert (P5) Waters (P7) Davison (P9) and Reynolds (P10).

Ford itself has called enough is enough, through an official press release where “all of the Mustang team bosses are now calling on Supercars to make a parity adjustment to allow the Gen3 Mustang to compete on an even playing field.”

Leading from the front is Tickford CEO Tim Edwards, who has brought back the term ‘Mustang Cup’ and claims the “trigger” has been hit.

James Courtney had a tough weekend with P16 his only top 20 finish.

“There is something wrong. The parity keeps getting triggered constantly. It’s six or seven races now where we’ve hit the trigger,” he said.

“Once again, we were racing in the Mustang cup. The poor guys are driving the wheels off the cars and that’s not good for anyone.

“There are some stand-out teams on the other side, because they have beaten Triple Eight, but they are only racing against two-thirds of the field.”

After seeing his two-car team record just the solitary top 19 finish in three races, Grove Racing owner Stephen Grove believes there is a “serious issue”.

“Obviously, parity is not helping us,” he said.

“There is a serious parity issue with the aero of the cars that needs to be addressed. We just cannot get any life out of our rear tyres.

Grove Racing’s David Reynolds had a tough time trying to figure out where to find pace at Hidden Valley.

“But beyond that, we need to re-group and do a better job.

“It was a bad weekend for us. We made too many mistakes in the cars and outside the cars.”

Walkinshaw Andretti United lost more ground in the championship with Mostert extremely hurt by poor qualifying speed.

Despite this, his race pace was much better, being able to get his elbows out and climb 11 and 16 positions respectively in Sunday’s pair of 35-lap sprints.

Walkinshaw Andretti United team principal Bruce Williams was up front and said qualifying is a clear weakness, but suggested there is more to “play out” off the track.

“We’ve got to do a better job in qualifying,” he said.

“You’ve got to be playing at the front and give yourself an opportunity to win.

“We’ve got awesome race pace, but you just start too far back. We can pass a lot of people, but only because we’re starting so far back.

Walkinshaw Andretti United’s Chaz Mostert had to race hard from disappointing qualifying positions.

“There is a bit to play out. I think it looks and feels like a lot more than just white noise on the parity front.”

There are only four weeks until the Townsville 500 on July 7-9.

For more of the latest motorsport news, pick up the latest issue of AUTO ACTION.

PODCAST: The latest episode of the Auto Action RevLimiter podcast is out now!

In the latest podcast we discuss this weekends Darwin Supercars preview & news, F1 Canada preview, Winton ARG and LeMans 24Hour wrap-up.

Listen to the RevLimiter podcast on your podcast app of choice or here on the RevLimiter website

AUTO ACTION, Australia’s independent voice of motorsport.

Auto Action D004

Search Auto Action

CONNECT

Recent Stories

array (
  0 => 
  WP_Term::__set_state(array(
     'term_id' => 11,
     'name' => 'Latest News',
     'slug' => 'latest-news',
     'term_group' => 0,
     'term_taxonomy_id' => 11,
     'taxonomy' => 'category',
     'description' => '',
     'parent' => 0,
     'count' => 15537,
     'filter' => 'raw',
     'cat_ID' => 11,
     'category_count' => 15537,
     'category_description' => '',
     'cat_name' => 'Latest News',
     'category_nicename' => 'latest-news',
     'category_parent' => 0,
  )),
  1 => 
  WP_Term::__set_state(array(
     'term_id' => 38,
     'name' => 'Supercars',
     'slug' => 'supercars',
     'term_group' => 0,
     'term_taxonomy_id' => 38,
     'taxonomy' => 'category',
     'description' => 'The Supercars Championship, currently known as the Repco Supercars Championship, is the premier motorsport category in Australasia and one of Australia\'s biggest sports. It originated from the Australian Touring Car Championship (ATCC), which held its first race in 1960 at Gnoo-Blas in Orange, New South Wales. The ATCC evolved over the years, and in 1997, it was rebranded as the V8 Supercars Championship, eventually becoming the Supercars Championship we know today.

Some of the leading drivers in the history of the Supercars Championship include Peter Brock, who is often referred to as the "King of the Mountain" for his nine victories at the Bathurst 1000, a race that is considered one of the biggest in the series. Other notable drivers include Dick Johnson, Marcos Ambrose, Craig Lowndes, Shane van Gisbergen, Jamie Whincup, who holds the record for the most championship titles, and Mark Skaife, who has also been a dominant force in the series.

The Bathurst 1000, held at Mount Panorama Circuit in Bathurst, New South Wales, is arguably the most famous race in the Supercars calendar. Other significant races include the Sandown 500 and the Adelaide 500, which are known for their challenging circuits and thrilling competitions.

The Supercars Championship has grown to become a globally recognized series, known for its competitive racing and passionate fan base. It continues to be a major part of Australia\'s motorsport culture, attracting top drivers and teams from around the world.',
     'parent' => 0,
     'count' => 5241,
     'filter' => 'raw',
     'cat_ID' => 38,
     'category_count' => 5241,
     'category_description' => 'The Supercars Championship, currently known as the Repco Supercars Championship, is the premier motorsport category in Australasia and one of Australia\'s biggest sports. It originated from the Australian Touring Car Championship (ATCC), which held its first race in 1960 at Gnoo-Blas in Orange, New South Wales. The ATCC evolved over the years, and in 1997, it was rebranded as the V8 Supercars Championship, eventually becoming the Supercars Championship we know today.

Some of the leading drivers in the history of the Supercars Championship include Peter Brock, who is often referred to as the "King of the Mountain" for his nine victories at the Bathurst 1000, a race that is considered one of the biggest in the series. Other notable drivers include Dick Johnson, Marcos Ambrose, Craig Lowndes, Shane van Gisbergen, Jamie Whincup, who holds the record for the most championship titles, and Mark Skaife, who has also been a dominant force in the series.

The Bathurst 1000, held at Mount Panorama Circuit in Bathurst, New South Wales, is arguably the most famous race in the Supercars calendar. Other significant races include the Sandown 500 and the Adelaide 500, which are known for their challenging circuits and thrilling competitions.

The Supercars Championship has grown to become a globally recognized series, known for its competitive racing and passionate fan base. It continues to be a major part of Australia\'s motorsport culture, attracting top drivers and teams from around the world.',
     'cat_name' => 'Supercars',
     'category_nicename' => 'supercars',
     'category_parent' => 0,
  )),
  2 => 
  WP_Term::__set_state(array(
     'term_id' => 2029,
     'name' => 'ZZZ-Email',
     'slug' => 'email',
     'term_group' => 0,
     'term_taxonomy_id' => 2029,
     'taxonomy' => 'category',
     'description' => '',
     'parent' => 2031,
     'count' => 6124,
     'filter' => 'raw',
     'cat_ID' => 2029,
     'category_count' => 6124,
     'category_description' => '',
     'cat_name' => 'ZZZ-Email',
     'category_nicename' => 'email',
     'category_parent' => 2031,
  )),
  3 => 
  WP_Term::__set_state(array(
     'term_id' => 2031,
     'name' => 'ZZZ-RSSFeeds',
     'slug' => 'zzz-rssfeeds',
     'term_group' => 0,
     'term_taxonomy_id' => 2031,
     'taxonomy' => 'category',
     'description' => '',
     'parent' => 0,
     'count' => 5493,
     'filter' => 'raw',
     'cat_ID' => 2031,
     'category_count' => 5493,
     'category_description' => '',
     'cat_name' => 'ZZZ-RSSFeeds',
     'category_nicename' => 'zzz-rssfeeds',
     'category_parent' => 0,
  )),
)