Triple Eight Race Engineering team principal Roland Dane says supply issues are slowing the build of its Gen3 prototype.
The Banyo-based outfit has been tasked with the homologation of the next-generation Chevrolet Camaro, which is slated for a testing debut in late October.
However, Dane said the team won’t be taking any shortcuts to get the car ready.
“At the moment we’re waiting for panels,” Dane told Speedcafe.com.
“That’s been quite challenging in terms of all the contractors that we use across Supercars getting tooling made for them and then getting the first panels out.
“There’s supply issues in the supply chain at the moment with some of the raw materials and some of that relates to panel work. It’s starting to gather momentum.”
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“[We’re] just trying to refine what we’ve got and, to be honest, deal with supply issues and try and ensure that we’re covering off parts, not only short term, but medium and longer term because there are going to carry on being challenges.
“It’s no good just having short term fixes. That’s where our efforts are concentrated at the moment on the one side and then we’ve got the engine programme going on on the other side.”
Dane said he’s been happy with the progress of the engine programme.
Despite supply issues, Dane is confident the team will have what it needs early next month to begin putting the prototype together.
“The prototype, by early next month, will have most of the parts we need to assemble,” he said.
“But we’ve got quality control procedures to go through with it all. We’re not going to take shortcuts.
“As I say, we’re still waiting for some key components to come in. But it’s like a jigsaw, you can’t finish it until you’ve got the final parts. That’s going on at the moment.”
It’s been nearly a year since Supercars released renders of what Gen3 might look like.
Since then, the aesthetics of the cars have been tweaked according to Supercars head of motorsport Adrian Burgess.
Asked what the cars look like now relative to early previews, Dane kept his cards close to his chest.
“Just wait and see,” he said.
“I can’t speak for the Ford, I know the Chevrolet looks outstanding.”
Officially, Gen3 is to make its competitive debut midway through next season, although many in the paddock have indicated a delay until the start of 2023 would be far from surprising.
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