MOTORSPORT: Supercars delays Gen3 rollout

The injection of the Chevrolet Camaro into Supercars racing as the new-age successor to generations of Holden Commodores has been delayed by six months.

A revitalised red-against-blue battle is one of the cornerstones of the upcoming Gen3 touring car regulations, with the Camaro to be pitted against the Ford Mustang as Supercars pivots towards a coupe-based contest with an American edge.

But the entire program has just been put on hold.

The delay will see the first Gen3 race in August 2022, instead of the scheduled start on the streets of Newcastle in February.

The introduction of Gen3 cars has been as tortured as any change to the touring car regulations since the 1950s, with splits among Supercars squads over the technical details, timing and cost of the changeover to cars that look more like production models – and less like the Franken-stang Mustang currently racing – with more controlled components to cut costs and engineering complications.

Delaying the Gen3 move will give teams more time for the change, potentially saving money, in a move that is going to cost each of them more than $1 million.

Supercars has only provided sketchy detail on the decision, despite lengthy deliberations and discussions this year that have often played out in public.

“Following challenges with international supply chains and ongoing domestic disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the decision has been made to ensure a seamless introduction of the new platform,” Supercars said in a statement.

It’s a face-saving way of deciding on the delay, even though public testing of the first prototype cars – one Camaro and one Mustang – is still planned for August, with public appearances at Supercars races through to the end of season 2021 including the Repco Bathurst 1000 in October.

But it also raises more questions about a mid-season car swap while debate is still raging over new highly-regulated V8 engines – 5.4-litre for the Mustang and 5.7-litre for the Camaro – and even a move to electronic gear-shifting with a potential change to F1-style paddles.

But Supercars is upbeat and is moving quickly from the basic chassis package to the building of complete cars with help from the two homologation teams, Red Bull Ampol Racing for the Camaro and Shell V-Power Racing for the Mustang.

“The preparation and building of the Gen3 race cars will still be conducted as quickly as possible and the completion of the Camaro and Mustang prototypes are a key short-term focus,” said Supercars.

“The additional time will be used to thoroughly test new components prior to introduction, particularly those that must be sourced from outside of Australia. Supercars remains committed to unveiling the prototype Gen3 cars to fans as soon as possible.

“The prototypes will have regular outings at all Supercars events in the lead-up to racing next year.”