Seven-time Supercars champion Jamie Whincup has hit back at “disturbing” and “bitterly disappointing” cheating claims made by a former third-party engineer.
Former F1 engineer Nick Wirth claimed to have “used the rules to beat the rules” to gain an aerodynamic advantage in designing the ZB Commodore which was introduced for the 2018 season.
Shane van Gisbergen drove the ZB to his final two championships in 2021 and 2022.
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The trick revolved around Supercars’ former method of testing parity, in which the category would perform a number of straight-line tests to measure the downforce on each car.
Jamie Whincup currently leads Supercars heavyweight Triple Eight as team principal. Â Getty
Speaking on The Hard Compound YouTube channel, Wirth – who previously worked for Simtek, Benetton and Virgin Racing F1 teams – said the devices Supercars used to measure downforce levels provided “an opportunity” for exploitation, specifically around the front brake ducting.
Put simply, Wirth claimed his design was hidden when Supercars ducting was installed, but was fully unlocked once the team’s own race-spec ducting was installed.
He also made the surprise claim Triple Eight had no knowledge of the trickery.
“We essentially gave (Supercars) a car that as soon as they put their load measuring equipment on, it stalled all of the downforce developing devices on the car,” he said.
“As soon as they took that stuff off, and we put our real stuff on, literally downforce was like two and a half times what had been measured.
“We did it by literally developing technology that used their own measurement system to defeat them.
“When the Triple Eight drivers drove our car for the first time they said there is no way this car is going to pass homologation. Not a chance. It is just nailed to the ground.
“It’s just a bit of fun, and probably there’s some people at Supercars that when they hear this story might grind their teeth a bit because I’ve never told anyone before.
“I’ve never told Triple Eight this story.”
Jamie Whincup at the wheel of a ZB Commodore in 2021. Getty
Despite the trickery, it wasn’t until the car’s fourth season of competition that it won the championship with Van Gisbergen. Former Ford ace Scott McLaughlin won the 2018 championship in a Ford Falcon FG-X, before dominating the sport for two seasons once the Blue oval introduced the Mustang in 2019.
Whincup, under then-team owner Roland Dane himself drove the ZB from its introduction until his retirement from full-time driving at the end of the 2021 season.
Now team principal, Whincup hit back at the claims via a statement on social media on Tuesday afternoon.
“We find these comments disturbing and are bitterly disappointed that if interpreted incorrectly it may raise questions on our integrity – something that is so important to us,” he said.
“Triple Eight have always respected Supercars’ testing process and have gone over and above in working with the governing body to achieve technical parity.
“We would never be associated with any person or company that contradicts this and if what Nick Wirth is saying on a podcast is correct, he should never be welcomed to work in the Supercars pitlane again.
“It’s important to address this situation so bluntly, especially out of respect to the hard working staff at Triple Eight and our fans.”
The ZB was the last Holden Supercar produced, and was replaced by the Chevrolet Camaro as the sport entered the Gen3 era for 2023.