{"id":81991,"date":"2025-10-16T10:49:10","date_gmt":"2025-10-16T10:49:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/81991\/"},"modified":"2025-10-16T10:49:10","modified_gmt":"2025-10-16T10:49:10","slug":"supercars-news-triple-eight-drivers-float-ford-bathurst-speed-theory","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/81991\/","title":{"rendered":"Supercars news: Triple Eight drivers float Ford Bathurst speed theory"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\u2018It\u2019s
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMustang leads Camaro into The Chase. Image: InSyde Media<\/p>\n

Engine parity was the talk of the weekend at Mount Panorama after a Supercars study into the impact of altitude on the two V8s found the Ford endured a 10bhp deficit at high revs.<\/p>\n

Upgrades to the Ford proposed by Supercars were blocked by GM teams<\/a>, which were able to veto the changes under the terms of the Teams Racing Charter.<\/p>\n

Dick Johnson Racing star Brodie Kostecki was adamant the Fords would have no chance in the race despite topping Friday qualifying and the Top 10 Shootout.<\/p>\n

While wet weather ultimately intervened, Kostecki\u2019s prediction of a disparity on Conrod Straight appeared to be proven true \u2013 particularly as the two Triple Eight Camaros made early ground.<\/p>\n

However, speaking on their respective podcasts this week, Triple Eight drivers Will Brown and Scott Pye have floated an alternate theory as to the reason for the apparent disparity.<\/p>\n

Kostecki claims Supercars TV \u2018treating fans like idiots\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cI find being in a Camaro, there\u2019s something with the wake the aero [of the Mustang] creates that sucks us along,\u201d said Brown on Lucky Dogs.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you\u2019re in the side draft or you\u2019re next to them and you just do a drag race, you don\u2019t just pass them easily down the straight.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut if you get behind them and tow, you get a massive tow on them.<\/p>\n

\u201cLike it\u2019s ridiculous, you get a really good tow. It\u2019s not motor. You get next to them, and you don\u2019t have that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kostecki argued the speed differences on Conrod Straight directly correlated with what was projected in the Supercars engine testing report.<\/p>\n

Brown\u2019s comments align with those made by Triple Eight manager Mark Dutton at The Bend that the team\u2019s studies into the Ford package suggest the engine isn\u2019t the Mustang\u2019s issue.<\/a><\/p>\n

Ford teams received a revised aerodynamic package and a shiftcut offset ahead of The Bend, both signed off in the name of helping close a verified top speed deficiency.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s understood Ford had knocked back a suggested low-drag aero package in favour of changes that shifted the car\u2019s aero balance reward and provided a lesser drag reduction.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The Mustang wing moved up and backwards, with a reduction in the maximum angle of attack. Image: InSyde Media<\/p>\n

GM teams argued the Ford runners should have had to hand back that package if they wanted the last-minute engine upgrade at Bathurst.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur team doesn\u2019t believe it\u2019s an engine deficiency,\u201d affirmed Brown on the podcast he co-hosts with Kostecki.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s the problem you guys have. GM teams have to sign off, and GM teams believe with being able to change your aero and all of that, you guys have got more aero somewhere and that creates more drag usually, and then there\u2019s the argument the engine\u2019s worse.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of arguments going on but\u2026 obviously every team in Supercars tries to get the most they can, the most aero, the most engine, all of that sort of stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pye echoed Brown\u2019s comments about the slipstream effect on Conrod Straight.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt has to be something to do with drag surely because the aero effect behind them is what was sucking us up. It was crazy how quickly you could catch the Ford,\u201d Pye said on Apex Hunters United.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe hole they were punching was much greater than what the Chev was because the slipstream advantage was not a lot on the Chev.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pye also doubled down on Dutton\u2019s comments from Thursday at Bathurst<\/a> arguing the barometric pressure testing was \u201cin its infancy\u201d and not complete.<\/p>\n

The Supercars report featured various disclaimers including the fact only the inlet side was tested, with the exhaust side still to be done.<\/p>\n

Pye said the argument that the Ford was worse off in the race than in qualifying \u2013 where Mustangs locked out the first two rows \u2013 was never fully explained.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we did go and give them 10 horsepower, there\u2019s a likelihood they might also have heaps of downforce, heaps of drag because they\u2019ve got heaps of downforce, and then just have shitloads of straightline,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThen we can\u2019t follow them across the top, because they were fast across the top, and then they\u2019re P1 down the bottom too.\u201d<\/p>\n

Supercars will return to the Windshear wind tunnel in the US in December for another round of aerodynamic testing that will homologate the new-for-2026 Toyota Supra.<\/p>\n

It will be tested alongside a Team 18 Camaro and a Triple Eight Mustang as the Red Bull Ampol team takes over Blue Oval homologation duties from DJR.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Mustang leads Camaro into The Chase. Image: InSyde Media Engine parity was the talk of the weekend at…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":81992,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[15967,111,139,69,21351,1058,213,21403,15968],"class_list":{"0":"post-81991","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports","8":"tag-brodie-kostecki","9":"tag-new-zealand","10":"tag-newzealand","11":"tag-nz","12":"tag-scott-pye","13":"tag-slot1","14":"tag-sports","15":"tag-triple-eight","16":"tag-will-brown"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81991","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=81991"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81991\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/81992"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=81991"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=81991"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=81991"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}