The long front straight and hot conditions meant parity was a constant talking point during the Darwin Triple Crown, with Ford teams and drivers concerned about straight line speed.
WAU driver Ryan Wood voiced his concerns as early as Friday, despite topping the first practice session, before Supercars permitted an in-event parity change ahead of Saturday’s action.
That consisted of makeshift heat shielding on the engine intended to mimic a ‘skull cap’ that is an OEM part on the Chevrolet V8.
The change didn’t quell the concerns from the majority of the Ford brigade, though, with two references to parity in the Blue Oval’s official post-event note to media.
“All the Ford teams are doing a magnificent job with what they’ve got. But engine performance was no different to any other event,” said WAU team principal Carl Faux.
“Looking at the speed trap data, the Mustangs were 2 km/h down on the opposition. And that’s just one data point, so we’re giving up time everywhere.”
David Noble, CEO of Dick Johnson Racing which is currently Ford’s homologation team, added: “We’re still waiting for the analysis of the overall competitiveness of the Fords.
“There was talk that it is still not quite there.”
While Broc Feeney clean-swept the Darwin Triple Crown in his Triple Eight Camaro, Ford drivers did collect five of the nine podium positions on offer across the weekend.
Cam Waters and Matt Payne were second and third respectively in Race 1 before Kai Allen scored a maiden Supercars podium with third in Race 2.
Allen and Payne then finished second and third to Feeney in the finale.
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