Davison buoyed by latest changes
Will Davison says latest changes to Ford package have made car “a little bit nicer”
Supercars announced aero package changes to Mustang on Tuesday
DJR heads to Gold Coast off the back of Bathurst podium for Anton De Pasquale
Will Davison feels the latest changes to the Ford Mustang package have made the car “a little bit nicer” in a few areas.
An updated aerodynamic package for the Mustang was confirmed on Tuesday, three days out from this weekend’s Boost Mobile Gold Coast 500.
The changes to the Ford aero include a front fascia ‘packer’ to reduce depth of lower ‘fog light’ bezels, a ‘wheelband’ insert ahead of front wheel, side skirt trailing edge addition, and new rear wingspan, wing position and maximum angle.
Davison has already trialled the new package, amid analysis work completed by Ford homologation team Dick Johnson Racing.
While citing the Gold Coast as a circuit not overly affected by downforce, Davison was excited to keep his team on an upwards trend.
It comes after Anton De Pasquale and Tony D’Alberto put the Shell V-Power Racing Team on the podium at the Repco Bathurst 1000. Davison and brother Alex, meanwhile, finished 16th after picking up damage.
De Pasquale/D'Alberto finished eighth at the Penrite Oil Sandown 500, with the Davison brothers seventh. With both cars showing strong pace in the enduros, DJR is now within reach of third in the teams' championship.
“With the changes this weekend, we’re excited, we’re certainly excited to continue maximising ourselves and our own potential,” Davison said.
“I’m sure, with the changes that we’ve got might see us step up our performance.
“It’s a pretty fickle sort of topic, particularly in very, very close cars. The field is covered by nothing. So, it’s minor minor tweaks that we’re getting on the cars.
“Whether you’re chasing straight-line speed… and the Gold Coast isn’t like Bathurst, the straights are much shorter. The handling in the chicanes is really critical around the Gold Coast. But aero balance is very important.”
Davison has form on the Surfers streets, notably battling Shane van Gisbergen for the lead 12 months ago before securing a podium.
“We’re talking hundredths of a second, tenths of a second, that’s going to make the difference,” he continued.
"And I did the testing a little while back with these proposed changes. I felt like it just made the car a little bit nicer, in a few areas.
“We’re not looking at major differences. But hopefully just that little bit of extra stability and grip to help us set the car up and give us that even playing ground that drivers are after.”
The 2023 season will resume this weekend at the Boost Mobile Gold Coast 500 before concluding at the VAILO Adelaide 500 next month.
From there, cars will under wind tunnel testing in the US in December in a world-first for Supercars.
