Ford team owners ‘frustrated’ despite win

By Thomas Miles

Date posted: 10 July 2023

Although Ford broke through for its first on track win of the Gen3 Supercars era in Townsville, some Ford team owners are still “extremely frustrated”.

Anton De Pasquale pushed Dick Johnson Racing and the “Blue Oval” back to the top on Sunday with a commanding drive to win by five seconds over championship contender Brodie Kostecki.

The success arrived on the same weekend the Mustang debuted a series of rear-end aero modifications Supercars made to achieve greater parity.

But some Ford team owners do not believe they fixed the issue of rear tyre degradation which played a big role for all drivers as rubber life was so hard to maintain across the pair of 88-lap races.

Although De Pasquale took the victory, he and Thomas Randle were the only Mustangs in the top 14 on the race 17 results sheet.

The most vocal driver about the problem was Chaz Mostert, who claimed the Chevrolet Camaros were “in a different class” despite returning to the podium on Saturday.

His team owner Ryan Walkinshaw echoed the comments of his driver, stating work still needs to be done.

Mostert failed to finish on Sunday due to a control part failure and only completed two laps.

“Yesterday (Saturday) was a good day but it was still frustrating because if any other year in Supercars if you did what we did with our strategy and tyres Chaz probably would have won by four or five seconds,” he told Supercars Trackside.

“But where we are with tyre deg on the Mustangs currently there was no way we could catch the guys up front even with a 10-lap tyre advantage.

“That was frustrating but we will still take a podium because there have not been many for us in Ford this year.

“A bit of hope is pushing it. It is good for Ford and the fans to get a win, but let’s not forget they had an extra set of green tyres, so if the solution to parity is to give all Ford teams an extra set of tyres, I am not sure that is the most efficient way to solve the problem.

“Good for the fans to get a win, but work to be done.”

Grove Racing initially took a much needed step forward in qualifying after two tough rounds with David Reynolds and Matt Payne combining for three out of a possible four shootout appearances.

However, this pace could not be replicated across a race distance as the two Penrite Mustangs drifted down the order.

Payne’s 15th on Saturday was the team’s best result across the two races meaning its last top 10 was eight races ago.

Boss Stephen Grove hopes progress can be made when more parity testing is completed post Townsville.

“It is still extremely frustrating,” he said.

“We think we’ve got a fast car over one lap, and the changes have made an impact, but the car still doesn’t look after the rear tyres.

“Overall the deterioration of the tyres was a problem for us. It’s just the race pace that is not there.

“Until we can get the tyres to last, that’s the way it is. We started second on Saturday and fifth on Sunday, but finished a long way back.

“There is some more testing on parity coming this week, so we’ve got to see what happens with that before we head to Sydney Motorsport Park.”

Ford teams will be hoping their tyres can last better at the Sydney SuperNight on July 28-30.

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.

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' => 15562,
     'filter' => 'raw',
     'cat_ID' => 11,
     'category_count' => 15562,
     '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' => 5249,
     'filter' => 'raw',
     'cat_ID' => 38,
     'category_count' => 5249,
     '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' => 6145,
     'filter' => 'raw',
     'cat_ID' => 2029,
     'category_count' => 6145,
     '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' => 5514,
     'filter' => 'raw',
     'cat_ID' => 2031,
     'category_count' => 5514,
     'category_description' => '',
     'cat_name' => 'ZZZ-RSSFeeds',
     'category_nicename' => 'zzz-rssfeeds',
     'category_parent' => 0,
  )),
)