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Ford had a sizeable presence at the season-opening Thrifty Bathurst 500, including the deployment once again of the SuperVan 4.2, which set an unofficial closed car lap record at Mount Panorama.
Nevertheless, Rushbrook’s own presence at a Supercars event for the first time in almost 12 months could reasonably have been construed as a political move in a critical year for the championship, off the back of a parity furore in the first season of Gen3.
Be that as it may, he struck a conciliatory tone when he addressed invited media, including Speedcafe, in pit lane at Mount Panorama.
While circumspect on the question of full technical parity, there was agreement that aerodynamics have now been paritised between the Ford Mustang and Chevrolet Camaro.
Notably, Rushbrook took it upon himself to quell suggestions that Ford’s big presence at Bathurst was simply to agitate.
“In terms of what we’re trying to do in motorsports, globally, to me, it’s great,” he stated.
“We’re here with two of our important pillars, right? Supercars as part of our Mustang pillar, [and] SuperVan 4.2 as part of our electric demonstrators pillar.
“It’s important for us to be present in all those spaces, and you’ll see it again in AGP; we’ll again have Supercars and SuperVan 4.2, but also, we’ll be there with our partners in Red Bull Powertrains, preparing for 2026, and we’re committed to being in all these different spaces.
“We’re positive about all of these programmes, including Supercars.
“It’s not that we’re here to complain; we’re here to make the category better, and aligned with what we see in different parts of the world, whether it’s with FIA or IMSA, and just the way everything else is run.
“What we’re seeing at this point in time is that is being embraced by Supercars, by the leadership there.
“So, when I make comments about processes not being perfect, they’re not, but it’s not to complain, it’s to truly make them better, and elevate what this category is capable of.
“There’s a lot of great people here, great drivers, great teams, great engineers, and we’re happy to be here and we love the fans that are here and it’s great for them to see what Ford is committed to.”
Rushbrook’s tone was a stark contrast to occasions during 2023, such as in July when he explicitly said he was “frustrated with Supercars,” or back in May when he bluntly stated that carmakers use transient dynamometers “for a reason.”
The company also pulled its backing of the Safety Car and advertising which it spent on the broadcast in Australia, which was interpreted as a message to Supercars.
The category’s commitment since then to transient dynamometer testing, once Dick Johnson Racing firms up the specification of its engine, has been greeted positively, as was the big-money investment in historic category wind tunnel testing which appears to have put questions of aero parity to bed.
Notably, Rushbrook said on Sunday that Ford can “absolutely” be a championship contender in 2024, whereas he told media during 2023 that Ford’s commitment to categories such as Supercars is dependent on the “opportunity to win.”
Walkinshaw Andretti United’s Chaz Mostert put his Mobil 1 Optus Mustang on the podium in both races at Mount Panorama, setting the fastest lap in one and finishing 1.55s behind the winner in the other despite there being no Safety Car in that encounter.
He is third in the drivers’ championship, behind Will Brown and Broc Feeney, who are fielded by Chevrolet’s homologation team, Triple Eight Race Engineering.
