Ryan Story: Supercars has “no second chances” on parity

Ford is unhappy and Supercars has “no second chances” to get Gen3 parity right, warns Ryan Story.

Ford Mustangs won both races at the just-completed Boost Mobile Gold Coast 500, with Tickford Racing’s Cam Waters prevailing in Race 25 and Penrite Racing’s David Reynolds in Race 26.

However, those triumphs meant that the Blue Oval brigade left Surfers Paradise with twice as many wins as its tally upon arrival to the Glitter Strip for Event 11 of the season.

Despite the (cautious) optimism which the turnaround produced, and despite it coinciding with the introduction of a second new aerodynamic package for the Mustang, Ford figures are still unconvinced that all is well, and there is lament at the notion of a wasted season.

Confirmation of impending wind tunnel testing and transient dyno running is thus a crucial development in the context of the Gen3 parity saga.

According to Story, the former Team Principal of the Shell V-Power Racing Team and one of the key players in the two Ford aero updates rolled out in 2023, the stakes are high.

“They’re [Ford] not happy now, and for good reason,” he told this week’s Speedcafe Newscast.

“So, it’s critical we get this right.

“There’s no second chances here; we have to get it right, and, certainly, the impetus from everyone involved is to get it right.

“Supercars have committed the right level of investment to do that.

“The most important step now is ensuring that the appropriate brains trust is behind it to make it all happen.

“They’re working hard in the background; we met with them as recently as a few days ago, and we’re confident that they’re heading in the right direction.”

Ford had also wanted engine software and hardware changes for the Gold Coast but approval was not forthcoming on that front.

Neither Waters nor Reynolds believes the parity problem has been completely solved despite their wins, but the former praised the move to paritise aerodynamics using a wind tunnel, for the first time in Supercars’ history.

Until now, Supercars has relied on straight-line airfield running (VCAT) and CFD, with Story backing the decision to finally take cars to a wind tunnel.

“I think that you spend good money after bad when you try and do things after the fact,” he said.

“You can’t necessarily change the events of the past but, if you forget the events of the past, you’re doomed to repeat them.

“We have to get this right now [and] the funds have been committed by the board to do it.

“It’s a shame that it is 12 months after the fact because we certainly could have done this 12 months ago at probably a third of the price.

“However, circumstances have led us to this point; we have to get it right.”