MOTORSPORT: Ford Mustang Supercar slowed

Supercars has clipped the wing of the dominant new Ford Mustang racer.

The six Mustangs entered in the Supercars championship will turn up at the next round in Perth in early May with smaller endplates, a reduced rear wing gurney flap and shorter front undertray.

Mustangs have won nine of the 10 races conducted so far in the 2019 Supercars championship, with DJR Team Penske’s points leader Scott McLaughlin claiming seven of them. The Holden Commodore ZB has won one race and the Nissan Altima none.

The Mustang has already been the primary target of a new centre of gravity rule introduced to Supercars after the Australian Grand Prix that forced the shift of 28kg in ballast from the floor of the car to the roof.

Ford’s global motorsport boss Mark Rushbrook made it clear the Blue Oval only grudgingly accepted the aero changes being made under the category’s technical parity rules.

“The Mustang is an advanced, state-of-the-art Supercar, designed and built within the rules of the series. We are disappointed that we have had to make changes to the cars, however we respect the Supercars technical department and will comply,” he said.

“We will make these changes ahead of the next round so we can quickly understand the affect they’ll have on Mustang to give us the best chance of maintaining our paces.

“Mustang is run by some of the best teams in the series and that’s not technical parity, it is the sporting performance of the teams that race the car.

“Our car was signed off and homologated by Supercars ahead of the 2019 season, however whilst we understand these changes are in the interest of the sport, we expect to run the rest of the season on track unchanged from this specification.”

As bolshy as that statement sounds, the reality is there will be more changes if the Mustang continues to dominate. Conversely, it could have aero restored if it drops off the pace.

Apart from pointing out the aerodynamic package of the Mustang was signed off at official VCAT homologation test last December by rival teams, Ford is also citing the mandating of linear springs and the introduction of a new transaxle as other technical factors that may have affected the performance of teams in 2019.

For instance, the factory Red Bull Holden Racing Team has won one race and sometimes been shaded by privateer Commodores for pace in 2019.

“This is a world class car developed by Ford, Ford Performance, DJR Team Penske and Tickford,” added Rushbrook.

“We are incredibly proud of it and we stand by the state-of-the-art package we introduced into the series. Ford Performance exists to win races and championships and we are here to do just that. From here on we will do our talking on the racetrack.”

In a separate statement Supercars boss Seam Seamer said: “The Supercars Technical department has worked through the data available and requested these changes from homologating team DJR Team Penske and Ford Performance in a transparent manner.

“The Mustang is a world class race car and we respect the work that has gone in to developing the package. Despite passing VCAT any incoming car needs to meet the incumbents.

“DJRTP and Ford Performance understand that technical parity underpins the success of the sport and accept the changes.”