2023 Repco Supercars ChampionshipTouring Cars

[FPV MIC]

Live timing is up 👍

Natsoft Race Results

racing.natsoft.com.au

Edit: Unfortunately no sector times 👎... which is the important part .

 

[05XR8]

Good thing I didn’t go. It. Is. Bucketing down, here in Newy.

 

[Spacegoat]

Live timing is up 👍

Natsoft Race Results

racing.natsoft.com.au

Edit: Unfortunately no sector times 👎... which is the important part .

Supercars own timing has the sectors.

I've not been paying attention to it. Have no idea what the weather is and how the times compare currently.

 

[FPV MIC]

Supercars own timing has the sectors.

That's a bit better but it's not really the one I was after though. The one I was after displays every single sector time of every car for every lap, not just a rolling lap by lap time.

It looks like this (from 2019) Edit: Link won't work for some reason . If you click on Times in this one it should show up.

It looks like this:

I've not been paying attention to it. Have no idea what the weather is and how the times compare currently.

I've just had minimized and brought it up randomly because as you say, no idea what the weather is. Lack of proper rubber makes it even harder to know what's happening.

 

[Spacegoat]

The one I was after displays every single sector time of every car for every lap, not just a rolling lap by lap time.

Oh wow. That's a hell of a lot more in depth than what I was thinking. Had no idea the Natsoft timing could be that detailed. 👍

I've just had minimized and brought it up randomly because as you say, no idea what the weather is. Lack of proper rubber makes it even harder to know what's happening.

Yeah, I'm not sure how much stock to put into the times today. Guess we'll see how the practice sessions in Newy looks compared to this.

 

[FPV MIC]

So IMHO not much came out of yesterdays test other than it being a complete farce.

With Mustangs running (apparently) 60kgs heavier, no minimum front axle weight (so no CoG), and the Camaro teams running an illegal front splitter... oh, and I was watching the live timing at the end and only one Ford team seemed to put down a fast lap in that period (Todd Hazelwood/BRT).

Yeah, so, a total waste of time and funds

Supercars bans flexi Chevrolet Camaro mounts

au.motorsport.com

Dutto:
"The design brief for these was to make everything last better," said Dutton.

"So to increase the life of the front splitter, because it's not generating much downforce, they've got skids on them now, and then if you had a system to allow it to cop and impact, that would have been good.

"Unfortunately, both manufacturers weren't able to do it. We were able to do it in time, the Mustang wasn't. So that we don't get an advantage, we've had to de-tune the car in that area."

They used these years ago when running Fords to ''make them stronger''... and, as I recall, it was banned back then too! And both manufacturers not doing it wasn't a time thing, they didn't do it because it's illegal. It's even written into the rules:

Brad Jones' videos are starting to have that feel of an exposé of issues like one cynical old man thought. What with the wheel nuts, steering rack and splitter from his videos all turning out to be duds... and we'll probably find out if the front clips are at Newcastle

 

[FPV MIC]

In other news:

''AUTO ACTION has been told there were two properly comparative test runs from the whole of the original VCAT program.''

Supercars aero on the line

The aerodynamic parity between the Supercars Gen3 Ford Mustang and Chevrolet Camaro will finally be settled next week.

autoaction.com.au

Are Supercars serious! No wonder Mark Rushbrook called them out!

 

[Twisteddrift]

In other news:

''AUTO ACTION has been told there were two properly comparative test runs from the whole of the original VCAT program.''

Supercars aero on the line

The aerodynamic parity between the Supercars Gen3 Ford Mustang and Chevrolet Camaro will finally be settled next week.

autoaction.com.au

Are Supercars serious! No wonder Mark Rushbrook called them out!

It’s becoming a joke now how the higher ups are running the series. They don’t care, it seems like it from the outside. This is the chance the to revitalise the series, but there doing too much of a good job a throwing it down the toilet.

It’s not the teams fault, if there are holes in the rulebook or a different interpretation they’ll take the opportunity to try something. It’s happened so many times and it’ll happen again.

But the issue comes when powerbrokers do little to nothing about it. Which is why Ford came out and called them out.

I’m praying for a miracle where all the issues, somehow get fixed by at least the GP.

 

[05XR8]

SC want to hold onto that IP thing so bad. Not a doom and gloom post and not so much an I told so or whatever post, but dang, man... Should have done like DTM and just jump on the purpose built customer car train or MARC Cars or Trans Am or something. I was skeptical and didn't watch the series last coupe years, because of the shenanigans. I was liking what I was seeing when the cars were previewed.

They can't even get two cars right. Seriously, two dang cars.

 

[FPV MIC]

It’s becoming a joke now how the higher ups are running the series. They don’t care, it seems like it from the outside. This is the chance the to revitalise the series, but there doing too much of a good job a throwing it down the toilet.

It’s not the teams fault, if there are holes in the rulebook or a different interpretation they’ll take the opportunity to try something. It’s happened so many times and it’ll happen again.

But the issue comes when powerbrokers do little to nothing about it. Which is why Ford came out and called them out.

I’m praying for a miracle where all the issues, somehow get fixed by at least the GP.

What I don't understand is why it took Rushbrook to call them out. The drivers have been reporting this stuff all year and the telemetry would've shown it.

I heard months ago that at Bathurst and Tassie the Camaro was 0.3 seconds quicker down the straights. Dave Reynolds account (from here) somewhat backs that up:

"It all goes back to when I first drove the [prototype Mustang] last April at Symmons Plains. The Camaro was 0.4s, 0.5s faster than me and down the back straight it was hard into the limiter. I couldn't get anywhere near it.

Changes to both cars after the recent chassis dyno testing also seems to reaffirm that Rushbrook was right about the engine concerns. A longer shift cut time was added for the Camaro and a new engine map for the Ford was implemented, with the latter only being done the night before the open test, and somewhat unsuccessfully (see below).

Last-minute calibration change behind spate of Mustang throttle issues

The #55 Tickford Racing Ford Mustang lost multiple hours with a throttle issue A Supercars-initiated engine calibration change on the

www.speedcafe.com

At least they're trying... now.


Edit: You guys may think I'm crazy but bear with me, SVG has been threatening to leave Supercars if the racing isn't better this year, and SVG is a hard core racer. Now, could it be that he, like every one else, is sick of the nonsense and just wants to race everyone fair and square... but with equal equipment for a change? My gut seems to think so.

 

[05XR8]

It’s also odd Supercars putting a gag Order on drivers about Gen3. Probably after SVG said what he said, way back when.

 

[Twisteddrift]

Well he has been quiet ever since he’s comments on Gen3 at Adelaide, especially when on Fox were trying to make him talk it up (which felt like they were trying to make him there puppet). It’s just all a mess, for me Newcastle shouldn’t be too bad, because there aren’t many straights where the Camaro can just go out of sight, but they definitely need to fix this by the AGP.

 

[05XR8]

Well he has been quiet ever since he’s comments on Gen3 at Adelaide, especially when on Fox were trying to make him talk it up (which felt like they were trying to make him there puppet). It’s just all a mess, for me Newcastle shouldn’t be too bad, because there aren’t many straights where the Camaro can just go out of sight, but they definitely need to fix this by the AGP.

I’m just hoping it doesn’t become a habit of adding and removing and replacing parts through the year. SC been coining “parity” instead of BoP. I agree, it’s a mess and teams have spent all this money when it was supposed to a less costly and fun product. Yep, we’ll see how drivers feel following one another at Newcastle and Albert Park.

 

[FPV MIC]

Hypocrites!

Chevrolet joins Gen3 parity stoush

Ford is still at loggerheads with Supercars over a perceived aero imbalance, but Chevrolet has described any further change as “reckless”.

autoaction.com.au

Who was it that had Ford change their ''decorations'', what was it 6 or 7 times, sometimes within a two week window between rounds, with absolutely no VCAT testing? Then had CoG testing brought in mid season, which admittedly should have been brought in years prior, only when it was to their advantage (but wouldn't back it's introduction when the Ford teams asked for it with the introduction of the ZB). Who was being reckless back then oh ye with very short memory

And to call the aero devices ''decorations'' is just trying to downplay (one of) the actual advantages they know they have.

Edit: at AA's headline. Chevrolet has nothing to do with it. It should read ''T8 buys into parity debate...''

 

[05XR8]

Now I’m wondering how many cars will fail at the standing start, once the lights go out.

 

[FPV MIC]

Now I’m wondering how many cars will fail at the standing start, once the lights go out.

Yep, can't see them finding a fix for the overheating clutch issues this close to race time. No practice starts I guess.

Hopefully they can fit a larger bell housing in without having to redesign the chassis again, albeit it would only be a pretty minor adjustment I'd think.

 

[05XR8]

Honestly, nothing to do with them running Fords. Wild prediction. I’m sending good vibes to WAU. Hope they can win a Championship. Driver or Team. Both would be good.
Love Erebus. Probably the only other team I can think of. DJR seem lacklustre and I can’t really see flash in any other team.

 

[Twisteddrift]

Honestly, nothing to do with them running Fords. Wild prediction. I’m sending good vibes to WAU. Hope they can win a Championship. Driver or Team. Both would be good.
Love Erebus. Probably the only other team I can think of. DJR seem lacklustre and I can’t really see flash in any other team.

If they do fix issues between the two models it’s gonna be a competitive season. I agree with you WAU with both cars I reckon will be strong. Even though I’m a T8 fan, I’d expect that Shane doesn’t have whatever advantage he has had for the last 2 years anymore. I expect Broc to take it to the next level. You can tell he’s got a pep in his step following the end of last year. I do really think there is potential for this to be a great year, and hopefully we won’t be talking about parity for too much longer and have no major issues with the cars following this hurdle.

 

[05XR8]

Yes. I’m hoping it is more about the drivers, instead of certain cars being better.

 

[05XR8]

‘Faultless’ start to Winton Supercars test for new Ford engine map

The #2 Walkinshaw Andretti United Gen3 Ford Mustang. Picture: Shaun Tanner A positive start to the Winton test has been

www.speedcafe.com

This is good. Only thing is, my wife just told me we'll be following Erebus.

 

[Twisteddrift]

‘Faultless’ start to Winton Supercars test for new Ford engine map

The #2 Walkinshaw Andretti United Gen3 Ford Mustang. Picture: Shaun Tanner A positive start to the Winton test has been

www.speedcafe.com

This is good. Only thing is, my wife just told me we'll be following Erebus.

It’s promising that’s for sure.

 

[Spacegoat]

This is good. Only thing is, my wife just told me we'll be following Erebus.

Team 18 and BJR (well, Heimgartner and Fullwood anyway) on the GM side and WAU on the Ford side, for me. Honestly tho, I don't care as long as we get a halfway decent championship battle for a change.

 

[FPV MIC]

Close, hard fought racing with no inherent advantages to either side would be it for me. If we get that the championship should be wide open.

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Regarding the new Ford engine map, wasn't Craig Hasted (Supercars engine guru) the one that mapped the Ford engine previously? It seems a bit odd to me that the Ford engine tuning gurus here in Oz (Herrod) have now been let loose with the mapping.

Unless.... I was wondering if Supercars have admitted defeat with the set up of their control ECU and had to turn back on some of the knobs and controls that were disabled (as Mark Rushbrook put it) to get the engine and mapping to where it needs to be.

It's still the old map (the Craig Hasted map) just tweaked as I understand it... I could be wrong though. Craig is a very smart guy and I think if he had all the tools at his disposal he could've done a great job, but with Fords backing and knowledge, Herrod are the ones that need to be doing the Ford engine map.

 

[Twisteddrift]

Close, hard fought racing with no inherent advantages to either side would be it for me. If we get that the championship should be wide open.

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Regarding the new Ford engine map, wasn't Craig Hasted (Supercars engine guru) the one that mapped the Ford engine previously? It seems a bit odd to me that the Ford engine tuning gurus here in Oz (Herrod) have now been let loose with the mapping.

Unless.... I was wondering if Supercars have admitted defeat with the set up of their control ECU and had to turn back on some of the knobs and controls that were disabled (as Mark Rushbrook put it) to get the engine and mapping to where it needs to be.

It's still the old map (the Craig Hasted map) just tweaked as I understand it... I could be wrong though. Craig is a very smart guy and I think if he had all the tools at his disposal he could've done a great job, but with Fords backing and knowledge, Herrod are the ones that need to be doing the Ford engine map.

Yeah it’s a weird mess for sure, but hopefully yesterday was the end of all the drama and hopefully Newcastle will go off without any major dramas.

 

[FPV MIC]

Yeah it’s a weird mess for sure, but hopefully yesterday was the end of all the drama and hopefully Newcastle will go off without any major dramas.

They're still testing at Temora Aerodrome until tomorrow so hopefully they'll have ample information to get everything right. I'm just not holding my breathe that it will be sorted by Newcastle if new aero parts need to be manufactured, but if it's just 'drill a couple of holes in the rear uprights and shave a bit off the front' it should be far less of an issue.

I just wonder if T8 will sign off on it.

Just over seven days out and they still haven't set minimum weight or CoG.

Edited to add:
This is why I find the sector times so interesting. Check out Cam Waters times.

If you add his best sectors together from lap 13 and 16 his best time is very different (sectors underlined in red = 1:30.8719) than his actual recorded time (1:31.3408 marked by official timing with *). A bees dick under 0.4 (boxed in green) loss in the first sector is huge. It puts Cam at only 0.15xx slower than Todd Hazelwood's soft tyre run (1:30.7131).

It's still a mystery to me as to why this isn't published in this format more often for those of us that are propellor heads.

 

[05XR8]

I'll have to look out for when the trucks start arriving.

 

[Cap'n Jack]

I could’ve sworn round 1 was this weekend. Lucky though, because I’ll actually be in Newie this weekend and I wasn’t looking forward to missing the race that’s going on in the same city. 😆

 

[FPV MIC]

Progress... with still a hint of the unknown.

Supercars confirms minimum weights for Gen3 cars

Supercars has confirmed minimum weights for the Gen3 cars which will debut in competition next week. Picture: Shaun Tanner Supercars

www.speedcafe.com

At least they're letting the Camaro's place the extra weight as low as it can possibly go ... but according to this it may be as little as 10kgs ... but it is as low as it can go so I suppose they can't get any fairer than that... if you drive a Camaro that is.


Edit for a quick afterthought: How the **** can they (Supercars) possibly have gotten the CoG right when they don't know where, or even how much extra ballast the Camaro's will be carrying at one of the lowest points on the car.

 

[05XR8]

I could’ve sworn round 1 was this weekend. Lucky though, because I’ll actually be in Newie this weekend and I wasn’t looking forward to missing the race that’s going on in the same city. 😆

Keep in mind, the drivers will be at Gregson Park, from 430-7 next week Thursday.

 

[05XR8]

Dunlop Series grid locked in for Newcastle | Supercars

A combined field 29 cars strong has been locked in

www.supercars.com

Nice grid size. Shame no E63s or Volvos.