Walkinshaw TWG undertook an emergency specification change to the 2UR-GSE V8s following a catastrophic failure for Andre Heimgartner’s Brad Jones Racing entry in Sydney.
Heimgartner’s engine is understood to have dropped a valve – an issue that also struck Walkinshaw TWG’s mule car during durability testing last year.
Walkinshaw TWG’s engine department has subsequently implemented changes to the cylinder head specification for Albert Park.
Only four of the upgraded engines were available on Thursday, with Walkinshaw’s Ryan Wood the last to get the upgrade via an engine change made at the circuit this morning.
“We’ve had a couple of little reliability issues there that we’re working through,” Walkinshaw explained on the TV broadcast on Thursday.
“So we had to ‘de-build’ a lot of the engines, fix some of the components that we found had failed and ensure the work was done on all the forensic analysis of those engines as well.
“[We had to] then rebuild the engines and get enough here so that we can get all five Toyota Supras on the track, so lots of work.”
Wood’s new engine has been sealed at the circuit by Supercars, but is yet to undergo the regular process of being run on the category’s dyno in Brisbane.
The cylinder head change is said to be purely to fix the reliability issue, with no additional performance gained.
Wood and teammate Chaz Mostert will start the Friday evening race from third and fourth on the grid respectively as they hunt that marque’s maiden Supercars podium.
The BJR Supras of Cam Hill, Andre Heimgartner and Macauley Jones are set to start 12th, 16th and 19th respectively for the 5:30pm AEDT race.
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