SUPERCARS chief James Warburton has had his say after a bitter week that endedw ith an unforgettable Great Race.
Much of the focus through the build-up to race day at Bathurst had centred around parity and whether or not changes would be applied following barometric pressure engine testing (i.e. examining the effect of altitude).
Tensions escalated Friday after Ford was officially denied a recommended solution, leading to Brodie Kostecki going on the offensive even after grabbing provisional pole.
His team Dick Johnson Racing went even harder with a stinging statement issued Saturday night.
It’s worth noting that a number of people in the industry have privately criticised DJR/Ford using a pre-Tailem Bend opportunity to modify aero as a chance to shift balance rearward instead of cutting drag to increase top speed.
Anyhow, sure enough, in the dry-weather early phase of the Bathurst 1000 race, it was impossible not to observe how the passing down Conrod Straight seemed to be a lot of Camaros overtaking Mustangs and not much of the other way round.
Then came the rain, and a simply incredible contest unfolded.
After countless twists and turns, it was the Grove Racing Mustang of Matt Payne and Garth Tander emerging victorious, the narrative turning from parity tensions to widespread recognition of a memorable contest.
“The best qualifying session we’ve ever seen, followed by an unbelievable Shootout and then it was a pretty good race right up until it started raining and that changed the complexion of it… it was just epic,” Warburton told V8 Sleuth.
“The whole thing was epic.
“The fact that it ran until quarter-to-seven live across Seven and Fox, I think the numbers will be off the charters.”
Pressed on the elephant in the room, the DJR statement, Warburton responded: “I think the thing I’d say is what we should have been celebrating post the Top 10 Shootout was Brodie being the best since (Peter) Brock in terms of the three-peat. And ultimately a Ford won the race.
“We work through process and procedure… at the end of the day, it is what it is and we move on.”
Brodie Kostecki with engineer George Commins. Pic: Supplied/Mark Horsburgh
Long-term, Supercars now has the chance to mandate one-off altitude-related tweaks before the next visit to Bathurst. Short-term, the championship heads to Gold Coast where the Mustang is three-from-four in Gen3.
So, is the parity war of words on the backburner?
“Where’s the war of words? We haven’t said a thing. Supercars hasn’t said a thing. We haven’t said a single thing,” stressed Warburton.
“Look at the end of the day, the results speak for themselves.
“DJR should be allowed to do whatever they want to do and they should be able to say whatever they want to say.
“That’s the world we live in and certainly from a media background, I’m very happy for people to say whatever they want to say.
“Let’s not get into that. Let’s get into the fact it was the most unbelievable race.
“That’s what we want to celebrate – and we go to the Gold Coast with the cars the closest they’ve ever been.”
The Boost Mobile Gold Coast 500 (October 24-26) will represent Supercars’ first-ever knockout finals event.
Ten drivers are currently in contention for the championship; only seven will still be in the hunt after Surfers Paradise.