MOTORSPORT: Bathurst aero boost for Holden Commodore

The 2019 Supercars championship’s aerodynamic turbulence has continued with the Holden Commodore allowed further changes ahead of the Bathurst 1000 classic.

Only months after the ZB’s front undertray was adjusted in angle and the rear wing flattened by a single degree, the undertray has now been extended and a gurney added to the rear wing endplates along the trailing edge.

The changes are said to be in search of more downforce (grip) and rear wing stability, the latter also aided by the removal of the high-level brake detail from the tailgate.

This is the latest response to the dominance of the Ford Mustang in the 2019 championship, the new coupe winning 19 of the 22 races so far.

That included a double for runaway championship leader Scott Mclaughlin in the last round at The Bend in South Australia.

It was after that result the official Holden homologation team, Triple Eight Race Engineering, applied to the Supercars Technical Department for an aerodynamic adjustment

"Upon assessing the application and the information supplied, the Technical Department approved the submission as the delegated authority of the Supercars Commission," Supercars Head of Motorsport Adrian Burgess said.

"This adjustment will be in effect from the New Zealand round onwards."

The next race after NZ is the Bathurst 1000, the jewel in the Supercars championship and a race where a win for McLaughlin could seal the title with three races to spare if he leads by 900 points or more. He currently leads by 573 points.

The modifications to the models contesting the championship have been ongoing in search of what Supercars calls technical parity all season.

The idea is the cars get to the track with their performance relatively even, but then team tuning, slick pitwork and driver ability determines who wins.

But the Mustang, which had its aerodynamics developed by Ford Performance in the USA, has displayed outstanding cornering downforce (grip) all year, something Supercars doesn’t currently test for.

The arrival of the Mustang forced Supercars to introduce a centre of gravity rule in April, then it reduced the Mustang’s downforce in May, the Commodore had its first aero adjustment in June and the Nisan Altima received a concession last month.

While Ford fans argue the dominance of the Mustang is mostly attributable to McLaughlin’s brilliance, all six Mustang drivers are in the championship top 11, including the first three spots.

Blue Oval supporters also contend Triple Eight, which runs the Red Bull Holden Racing Team, has struggled this year with only three wins primarily because of the mandatory change for all cars from trapezoidal to linear springs.

Predictably, the Holden folk reject that. The Bend, with its long flowing corners, certainly backed them up with Mustangs claiming both poles and five of six rostrum spots.