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Supercars has advised that Ford’s proposed parity changes have not been approved at the Bathurst 1000 due to lack of consent from teams.
Ford had been hoping for an adjustment to the bodywork of the Mustang in order to shift its aerodynamic balance towards the rear.
However, after a series of meetings before and during set-up day, which lasted until late last night, they were rejected.
Data from recent races had not ‘triggered’ the Parity Review System which Supercars has been using and hence, according to the championship, “there is no scope for a parity adjustment to be made for the Bathurst 1000 under the Parity Review System.”
Notably, the statement explains that “all Supercars Teams” would have had to consent to the change in the absence of the trigger being hit, which is an even greater threshold than the 75 percent thought to have been required to give the Supercars Board the right to approve the change.
Ford teams have described the parity situation as “unacceptable” while the Ford Motor Company itself claims that recently released CFD data proves that there is a disparity between its Mustang and the Chevrolet Camaro.
Practice 1 for the Repco Bathurst 1000 starts at 13:20 local time/AEDT.
Full statement from Supercars
Throughout the year, our teams have followed, and Supercars has administered, a Parity Review System for the Repco Supercars Championship. This system serves as the process for evaluating and implementing parity adjustments under the rules and regulations for the category.
The Parity Review System has a trigger point of a potential parity imbalance being demonstrated in five consecutive races or five out of eight consecutive races.
The prescribed number of parity triggers showcasing a parity imbalance, as outlined in the system, have not been met at this time and there is no scope for a parity adjustment to be made for the Bathurst 1000 under the Parity Review System.
Supercars received a request from the Ford Homologation Team to implement a parity adjustment in advance of the Repco Bathurst 1000 outside of the Parity Review System.
Supercars considered the request in accordance with the terms of the Teams Racing Charter and the Supercars rules and regulations, which require the consent from all Supercars Teams to implement the requested parity adjustment change.
After numerous meetings with all Teams and key stakeholders, the requisite consent from the Supercars Teams has not been established to support the requested parity adjustment for the 2023 Repco Bathurst 1000.
We value the input and perspectives of all involved parties and aim to continue working in a manner that preserves the integrity of our sport and the rules and regulations that govern it.
