Supercars officials have finalised their investigation into the Chevrolet Camaro and made a number of changes for this weekend’s round in Christchurch. A parity investigation ‘trigger’ was reached by both Toyota and Chevy in Taupo last weekend after Ford continued their dominant start to the season.
Ford drivers Brodie Kostecki (four) and Broc Feeney (three) have won seven of the nine races so far this year, while Toyota (Ryan Wood) and Chevy (Anton De Pesquale) have one apiece. Under new rules for the 2026 season, Supercars officials are required to investigate if one manufacturer becomes overly dominant.
Supercars officials have finalised their investigations and made a number of changes. Image: Getty
When Kostecki won the opening race in Taupo, both Toyota and Chevy reached the parity ‘trigger’ based off lap-time data. Supercars have since investigated the Toyota and Chevrolet cars, and determined that no changes need to be made to the Toyota Supra. That came as no surprise considering Wood won on Saturday.
But officials found a number of changes needed to be made to the Chevy Camaro – namely to the front splitter and rear wing. The changes have shifted the car’s aerodynamic balance rear-wards, making it more aligned with the way the Ford Mustang and Toyota Supra is set up.
Anton De Pasquale has Chevrolet’s only victory and podium of the year.
(Getty Images)
Officials said in a statement: “This aerodynamic difference was evident in the Windtunnel results and now further substantiated with vehicle track data. The changes are a reduction in front splitter leading edge, rear wing position rearward/upwards and reduced rear wing angle.
“The change will be made for this weekend’s ITM Christchurch Super 440. Further testing and CFD will be undertaken in the coming weeks and you are reminded Supercars reserve the right to reverse, revise or modify the changes for the next 2 rounds.”
De Pasquale won the second race of the season in Sydney, but it’s the only podium for Chevrolet so far. Heading into Christchurch, Ford had 22 out of a possible 27 podiums, while Toyota had the other four.
Will Brown warns against Supercars ‘leg-up’
Speaking earlier this week, Ford driver Will Brown pointed out that Chevy simply don’t have the experience in their driver ranks and therefore can’t expect similar results to teams with the likes of himself, Feeney, Kostecki and Chaz Mostert.
“You can’t just give a leg-up because the teams or the drivers aren’t doing as good of a job right now,” Brown said on the ‘Lucky Dogs’ podcast. “Unfortunately, Erebus haven’t had the best run, MSR (Matt Stone Racing) haven’t. I’d say Team 18 have probably stepped up more than I thought this year, they’ve done a pretty good job, but then also PremiAir have two rookies as well.
“You’ve got two of the teams have got rookies pretty much in both cars, then MSR has a rookie and Jack (Le Brocq). I don’t know how you work that out on track performance.”
Ford continued their dominance on Friday morning as Matt Payne secured pole for the first race at Ruapuna, edging fellow Ford driver Kostecki by just 0.0308s. Wood qualified third-fastest, while Kai Allen was fourth and Brown fifth.