It was a politically-charged build-up to the latest Great Race as Ford aggressively tried to push through changes to its V8 engine.
The changes were a solution proposed by Supercars off the back of last-minute barometric testing that exposed a small deficit for the Ford compared to the GM motor at the top of the rev range at Bathurst altitude.
However, as it involved a switch to a 51 millimetre restrictor it required all teams to sign off, the GM armada understandably refusing to agree.
That left Supercars with its hands tied, infuriating Ford and its homologation team Dick Johnson Racing to a point that DJR protested the series to Motorsport Australia, a move that was unsuccessful.
As it turned out the rain took the sting out of the parity debate on Sunday, with none of the fast Fords from qualifying in contention by the end of a wild race.
A Ford still won, however out was the Matt Payne/Garth Tander entry that had started back in 18th – and was greatly helped by the clash between Erebus rookie Cooper Murray and fellow Camaro driver James Golding while battling for the lead in the closing stages.
That dropped Murray back to fourth, while Golding crossed the line first by was demoted to third thanks to a five-second penalty, promoting Payne and Tander to victory.
The final outcome irked Ryan who was unimpressed with Ford and DJR’s antics during Bathurst week.
“Fourth at Bathurst is nothing to sneeze at, but Cooper putting us in a position to win – genuinely win – then to get taken out by another GM, it’s a bit upsetting to let Ford win,” he told Speedcafe.
“Especially with all Ford’s bullshit this weekend, although the karma train came and got some of those Ford people that were whinging.
“I don’t want to speak ill of anything, but the whole situation has been so off putting.
“At the start of [Sunday], I didn’t want to do the race, because they ruined the race for everyone with their antics and their bullshit and their statements about stuff that’s not true.”
As for the accuracy of the data presented by Supercars, Ryan added: “The Supercars dyno test regarding atmospheric pressure was noted as not complete and stated so, they never performed a test that included the exhaust with a controlled pressure”.
That is indeed referenced in the Supercars document, which listed both that, and the life of the respective engines taking part in the testing (two new GM units and two used Ford engines), as “areas of refinement”.
It reads: Whilst results displayed an inequivalent response to the low barometric pressure, elements for refinement within the process and methodology were noted. Such areas for refinement include:
• The finalisation and commissioning of the exhaust barometric emulation. Currently the complete response to low pressure is unknown, and isolation of variability (such as inequivalent inlet/exhaust pressure) requires further understanding.
• A less-ideal situation regarding pool availability required the new-to-old correction factor, again, this would have been completed with a reference engine that was more characteristic of the performance across the VCS field, had one been available.
Ryan’s Erebus team was an on-track factor throughout the weekend, particularly with the #99 Camaro of Murray and Jobe Stewart.
In both dry and wet conditions the car was in the hunt and may well have won had it not been for the contact from Golding.
That left Ryan incredibly proud of his crew and Murray in particular, despite not converting that late lead to victory.
“It was a positive day for the team, no matter the outcome,” said Ryan.
“We call got around Cooper at the end of the race and said we are 100 per cent proud of you. He’s so early in his career, it was the first time he was a main driver at Bathurst, and he nearly won.
“He can genuinely target 10 Bathursts, like a Peter Brock. He’s 23 years of age, the sky is the limit for him.
“I just want him to be proud and not feel like he let the team down. I’m sure he does feel that way, but he hasn’t at all.”
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