Mustang parity changes may take a race or two to understand
By Andrew Clarke
Date posted: 8 July 2023
Supercars is hoping a series of changes to the rear wing of the Mustang will solve its parity dilemma, but the full impact may not be known until Sydney Motorsport Park as the Ford terms ‘relearn’ the Gen3 package.
Supercars’ Tech team has used computational fluid dynamics (CFD) to try and balance out the rear sensitivity of the Mustang in certain yaw and pitch conditions.
According to our sources, the challenge was to make changes without impacting the drag or downforce figures of the cars.
The rear wing has been moved forward about 20mm and has been lowered by a similar amount, and a small Gurney flap has been added to the trailing edge.
Parity changes have moved the rear wing of the Ford Mustang in Supercars.
The boot-mounted spoiler has also been extended and raised, meaning the gap between the lower edge of the wing and the upper edge of the boot lid surface has been closed.
According to the Ford teams in pitlane, it may take a little while for the full impact of the change to be understood with the previous set-up and all existing knowledge for the Gen3 virtually meaningless.
Whilst Chevrolet started on top in practice, the first qualifying session with the new set-up was a more even affair.
For the first time this year, the leaderboard had five Fords and five Chevs in the top 10 with Cameron Waters leading Matt Payne.
The real test, however, is the race where the rear tyre wear on the Mustang has been a major issue.
Waters reflected these factors after finishing third fastest in Friday practice.
A Gurney Flap has added to the rear wing of the Ford Mustang in Australian Supercars
“We’re going to be hanging on,” he said.
“Hopefully (the circuit) rubbers in a little bit before tomorrow’s race and it’s a bit better than we all think.”
Waters also made the challenge of finding the new setup window in the revised Mustang very clear.
“It is awesome they found a few things and backed up what we were saying, so credit to Supercars and DJR to put these changes forward to try and help us,” he told FOX SPORTS.
“We have just got to work out how to go fast now.
“The thing was horrible practice 1 and we did a fair bit to it then and it was better (in practice 2). Still not ideal, but we are going in the right direction at least.
“Braking was our achilles heel before and we tuned things in the car to make that better and better but the car was like a plough, I could not turn it.
“So we have undo a few of the things and get it back into a more normal window.”
Supercars Townsville 500 Schedule (AEST)
Friday
Practice 1 – 10:10 – 10:40 – P1: Brown 1:13.970, P2: Hazelwood +0.220, P3: Van Gisbergen +0.278
Practice 2 – 14:45 – 15:15 – P1: Le Brocq 1:13.432, P2: Fullwood +0247, P3: Waters +0.332
Saturday
Qualifying: Race 16 – 10:15 – 10:30
Top Ten Shootout – 1200 – 12:30
Race 16 – 1440 – 1650
Sunday
Qualifying: Race 17 – 10:15 – 10:30
Top Ten Shootout – 1200 – 12:30
Race 17 – 1440-1650
Download the full Supercars Townsville Round 6 Event Guide with track stats and facts and a full event schedule, plus our extensive driver profiles HERE
For more of the latest motorsport news, pick up the latest issue of AUTO ACTION.
Auto Action, Australia’s independent voice of motorsport.
PODCAST: The latest episode of the Auto Action RevLimiter podcast is out now!
Shane van Gisbergen went to Chicago to have some fun and a job interview. He had fun, won and aced the job interview. Andrew Clarke was there for the historic win, and Bruce Williams and Paul Gover dig into the significance of it all with Clarke.
Then we look Supercars and the parity war, what changes are coming? Then F1, which needs more changes than any Motorsport on the planet.
Listen on your podcast app of choice or here on the Auto Action RevLimiter podcast.
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' => 16620,
'filter' => 'raw',
'cat_ID' => 11,
'category_count' => 16620,
'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' => 5575,
'filter' => 'raw',
'cat_ID' => 38,
'category_count' => 5575,
'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' => 7176,
'filter' => 'raw',
'cat_ID' => 2029,
'category_count' => 7176,
'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' => 6531,
'filter' => 'raw',
'cat_ID' => 2031,
'category_count' => 6531,
'category_description' => '',
'cat_name' => 'ZZZ-RSSFeeds',
'category_nicename' => 'zzz-rssfeeds',
'category_parent' => 0,
)),
)
