As brought to light by Speedcafe, DJR took over Herrod Performance Engines in the off-season and hence now services the five Blue Oval squads, per the Gen3 ruleset which stipulates uniformity among each brand.
Perceptions of the potential for a conflict of interest had raised eyebrows in the paddock but the CEO at the Stapylton-based outfit, David Noble, has stated that the engine division across the freeway in Yatala will operate independently of the race team.
Nevertheless, though, DJR’s acquisition raises the question as to whether Tickford or Walkinshaw Racing, which built their own engines through to the end of the Gen2 era, might be interested in gaining the Ford deal in the future, whenever the current contract might end.
Nash, a Tickford co-owner and its Managing Director, dismissed the notion and instead expressed his faith in ‘geek’ Story.
“I was happy that it’s not so much DJR; it’s DJR that have taken it on but it’s Ryan Story that is leading it,” he explained when asked by Speedcafe about future Supercars engine supply.
“He knows I quote him like this, but, he’s a geek; if he takes control of something, he runs with it.
“As for the term [of the engine supply contract], look, it’s like anything, we’re not bogging down with terms.
“It’s been complex, they appear to have a great understanding now of the engine. It’s not one change, there’s lots of changes going on with what they’ve found, so I think the teams will be very supportive that they stay the supplier.”
LISTEN: Ryan Story joins The Hard Card podcast
Story’s return to active duties at DJR is not the only off-season leadership change, with Tickford undergoing a restructure of its own in conjunction with the departure of its long-time CEO/Team Principal Tim Edwards.
Nash has assumed team principal duties while Simon Brookhouse, probably best-known for his recent stint as the inaugural CEO of the National Basketball League’s Tasmania JackJumpers, has been appointed CEO with a major part of his remit being to commercialise non-race team activities at Campbellfield.
That also goes to the reluctance to return to dealing with Supercars engines, beyond those it currently maintains as a legacy of the pre-Gen3 days.
“I joke with our people, ‘How come we never rebuild a Holden engine?’” said the man who owns the former factory Ford team.
“We’ve got an engine department that can just rebuild engines, so that’s what Simon will be looking into as well.
“Even if it came up, we probably wouldn’t want to be involved if we’re thinking everything commercially.”
The Blanchard Racing Team subsequently had the proposed new specification in its #3 Mustang down at Winton, where James Courtney gave a positive assessment after his taste of it while driving team-mate Aaron Love’s car.
While parity was established last year based on Supercars’ existing metrics, efforts have been made on improving the moment of inertia, given the KRE Race Engines-built ‘LTR’ motor which powers the Camaros appeared to be the superior machinery.
According to Nash, matters came to a head at last October’s Gold Coast event – which so happened to immediately follow the Bathurst 1000, at Mount Panorama – where Ford teams decided a change in approach was needed.
“Last year was the year it was, but there’s lots of things that weren’t put in place, right?” he explained. “You know, the correct expertise…
“I felt there was a differentiation between what the GM guys had with Kenny Mac [Ken McNamara, KRE].
“Kenny Mac’s so well-established; I knew Kenny Mac back in the speedway days so [he has] been around forever, whereas the Robbie Herrod thing, everything was something new and fresh.
“Everyone’s aware that the Coyote engine, making it to a race engine and to match up with an entirely different engine was a big task for everyone.
“So, at Gold Coast, there was a series of meetings and it was evident by the Ford teams that we had to have a change, otherwise we were going to go doing the same this year, 2024.
“Ford, in my opinion, over the years, even though they may have dropped out for a short period, they’ve been very proactive and been involved in motor racing.
“Under [global CEO] Jim Farley, I mean, he’s very much motor racing and, through Ford Performance, they’re into motor racing everywhere, so we had to be aggressive on the engine side of things.”
Engines will remain a talking point for some time to come, with Supercars announcing that it is using this month’s Bathurst 12 Hour as an opportunity to collect more data via on-track demonstrations of a Mustang and a Camaro.
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