Mustangs adopt road car parts in ballast change

Ford teams have swapped composite roof header rails for the original equipment steel items in their Mustang Supercars as part of the latest ballast adjustment ahead of Ipswich.

Earlier this month, the Supercars Commission ratified a plan to redistribute ballast in each vehicle, to lower the centre of gravity of all models, while maintaining the current CoG parity.

It followed the addition of ballast to the roof of the Mustang (28kg) and Commodore (6.8kg) after initial testing in March revealed a discrepancy between the models.

The latest changes mean 9kg of ballast will be moved from the roof to the floor of the Mustang, and composite front and rear roof header rails will be replaced by the heavier steel parts.

Holden teams will meanwhile move 6.8kg of ballast from the roof to the floor, while existing engine ballast on the Nissan, which was not altered in March, will be lowered to the sump.

Explaining the changes to the Mustang in a Tickford Racing video, team boss Tim Edwards hailed them as good for the sport.

"It's a much better solution that having lead wrapped around the roll cage,” he said of the original solution, pictured top.

"It's a really good thing for the sport. Instead of having 20 cars on the grid with ballast in the roof we'll only have the six Mustangs with ballast in the roof.

"That's a positive for the sport and as a team we're quite happy about the change."

The changes also mean Ford teams will no longer have to remove part of their roof ballast in order to undertake passenger rides, as had been the case since March.

Testing last week with the changes in place, Shell V-Power Racing’s Scott McLaughlin said the adjustment is too small to be felt by drivers.

“I couldn't feel a thing,” he said. “But I said to the guys that it looks better, just because there's not a big piece of lead hanging over [the roll-bar].”

All cars will have the changes in place for this weekend’s Century Batteries Ipswich SuperSprint.