Engine map change for Mustang Supercars for Perth

The Ford Mustangs will run with a new engine map at this weekend’s Bosch Power Tools Perth SuperSprint.

The Chevrolet teams have collectively dominated the opening two events of the Gen3 era, with Camaros first to the chequered flag in each of the six races which have been held thus far in the 2023 Repco Supercars Championship.

Ford teams met regarding parity both during and after the most recent event of the season at Albert Park, where on-track performance suggested that the Camaros had a straight-line advantage over the Mustangs.

However, it is understood that the new calibration which Supercars has approved for this weekend arose from data gathered at Newcastle, and is thus primarily intended to improve low-rev engine response.

While engine calibration evolved during pre-season, the nature of the Newcastle East Street Circuit is such that it was the first time when the Mustang’s Coyote-based engine was genuinely put to the test low in the rev range.

Whether it fully addresses the deficiency which the Mustang is though to have remains to be seen.

The new calibration represents a change to the Ford’s Engine Specification Document, which entails a 28-day approval process and hence lessons learnt from Albert Park have not necessarily been factored in just yet.

It is not the only parity change which takes effect this weekend at Wanneroo Raceway, with the Chevrolet teams forced to shift just under 5kg of ballast to an area near the top of the fuel cell in order to bring the Camaro’s centre of gravity up, after a minor disparity was detected post-Albert Park.

In other technical matters, all teams have been ordered to apply fire retardant paint to their front guards after the fires which occurred in two Mustangs at Albert Park.

It is an additional measure after the catch can was modified such that it vents via piping to the rear of the vehicle, rather than breathing back into the engine bay.

With that, standing starts will be reintroduced this weekend, while the first session is Practice this afternoon from 14:25 local time/16:25 AWST.