Mustang builds to ramp up over off-season

Production of Ford Mustang Supercars will ramp up over the off-season after the model received the final green light from the Supercars Commission.

The Blue Oval’s new Supercars challenger is now gearing up for its highly anticipated race debut next year after successfully completing Supercars’ homologation process known as VCAT (V8 Supercars Aerodynamic Testing).

Over a period of nine days the Mustang underwent a series of straight-line aero tests at Temora Airstrip in New South Wales to ensure the model’s aerodynamic parity against the Holden ZB Commodore and the Nissan Altima.

With the car’s final specification locked in, Mustang teams DJR Team Penske, Tickford Racing and 23Red Racing can now push forward with the build of their new race cars for 2019.

The squads have already begun to piece together the six cars but production of the car’s key aerodynamic panels had been put on hold until its homologation had been ratified.

Shell V-Power Racing managing director Ryan Story says the teams face a huge task to ready the cars for next season but believes they are in the best possible position.

“You can prepare the chassis (while VCAT is ongoing), and you can prepare a lot of the non-aero-sensitive panels, you can put them through production, and get a bit of a head-start,” Story told Speedcafe.com.

“But it’s things like locking in the front bars, undertrays, rear wings, all of those aero-sensitive parts are what you’re waiting on, the final rubber stamp before you can aggressively start production on those items, and now that we’ve got the big tick, we can start in earnest on that.

“And, look, Supercars have done a great job.

“There have been VCATs in that they ran in January, for goodness’ sake.

“These guys have managed to get it (the car ready) done in the weeks proceeding the last event of the year.

“It gives everyone time to get their cars ready. It’s still a hell of a task ahead of us to be able to do that, but we’re in as good a position as we can be right now.”

Shell V-Power Racing began preparing its Mustang chassis for Scott McLaughlin in August, while Tickford kicked off the construction of a new rig, which will become a Mustang a month earlier.

Six Mustangs will be raced regularly next season although a seventh is due to be built by 23Red Racing, which could be fielded as a wildcard.

23Red Racing has also revealed that its Kilsyth workshop will be solely used to produce Mustang composite panels following its move to Tickford’s Campbellfield facility.