Homologation teams talk Gen3 efforts

The much-anticipated introduction of Supercars' Gen3 Ford Mustang and Chevrolet Camaro in 2023 reached another significant milestone last week, with the prototypes undergoing comprehensive VCAT (Vehicle Control Aerodynamic Testing)

The Camaro and Mustang completed five days of straight-line testing at Toowoomba’s Wellcamp Airport to ensure aerodynamic parity between the cars.

The extensive VCAT marked the culmination of two years of an unprecedented amount of design and development by Supercars technical staff, and the two homologation teams, Triple Eight Race Engineering and Dick Johnson Racing, to produce the new machines.

The new cars have been designed with an eye on increased road relevance and an improved racing spectacle, bringing a whole new look to the Supercars grid.

Achieving this is no easy feat, with the new-generation Supercars’ DNA from the chassis, engine, body, front suspension, rear wing, and several new safety features started from scratch.

Triple Eight took the initial lead on designing the Gen3 control chassis, and is the homologation team for General Motors, having been the factory Holden squad from 2017 until the end of last year.

“We started the Gen3 project in mid-2020,” Triple Eight technical director Jeromy Moore told Supercars.com.

“We took onboard, effectively the chassis suspension, the interior body for the GM, and pretty much 90 percent of the work.

“That involves me, Mitch, James and some other guys part-time averaging probably six days a week, 12 hours a day, for over two years.

“If you add all those up, it adds up pretty quickly, so a huge amount of work.

“It's not like any other generation change we've had, where we've kept the chassis the same, and changed the body, or kept the body the same and changed the chassis, or the engines always stayed the same.

“It's everything new, engine, body, chassis, front suspension.

“It also different iterations of those, we've done three front clips and three different steering racks.

“The rear suspension was fairly carryover, but still some modifications on that.

“In terms of the body panels, we get a surface from GM, and we have to physically make the parts from there inwards to match the chassis.”

Following its public reveal last October, an updated Gen3 Camaro prototype began testing in March, with the chassis tweaked to improve driver ergonomics and visibility.

Since then, the Mustang and Camaro prototypes have completed an extensive testing program of over 10,000kms at multiple venues, including Symmons Plains, the Reid Park Street Circuit and Mount Panorama.

A preliminary VCAT was held at Wellcamp Airport in June, prior to the release of the new-look Ford Mustang in its S650 body shape at last month’s Repco Bathurst 1000.

Gen3 prototypes underwent an in-depth VCAT in Toowoomba last week

Last week's crucial hunt for parity sees downforce measured through a range of different ride heights and set-ups, a big task for the homologation teams to prepare for.

“Coming to VCAT, we need all the options to balance the cars out to make them the same for downforce, drag, and aero balance,” Moore said.

“On the front splitter, we have 48 different parts we brought to match the downforce and drag on the Mustang, and on the rear, we've got six different wing positions and three different widths.

“There are a lot of parts to play around with to make the cars as close as possible.”

The project reached a critical production phase in recent months, with just four more Gen3 chassis left to be built.

Of the 14 Camaros set to feature in next year’s Supercars championship, Triple Eight will build six in-house, for both the Red Bull Ampol team and their customer teams.

Team 18 already has two Gen3 chassis and will look after the assembly of their own cars, while PremiAir Racing will take two turnkey Triple Eight Camaros.

Triple Eight will also manufacture two more chassis to be used as spares.

Critically, the Banyo-based team will need to complete the design and manufacturing work required ahead of the 2023 season-opener in Newcastle on March 10-12, just 115 days away.

“It's a big push,” Moore said.

“A lot of parts have been designed already; we will have to do some releases after knowing what parts we need coming out of VCAT but going from one prototype to 25 race cars is another story altogether.

“You need to make sure that all the drawings are done, and all the assemblies are right so that a guy on another team can grab the record panel, put everything in the right spot, and put on the car.

“It's a big difference from making one part and working with mechanics downstairs to get it to work, to having a production series.

“A lot of work to be done design-wise to make sure that everything's bolted together from the BJR car to a Triple Eight car so that we all have the same product on track.”

It’s a different workload for DJR, with the Ford homologation team focussing on the bodywork adaption of the Gen3 Mustang and the design of Ford-specific componentry.

PACE Innovations will manufacture a majority of the chassis for the Blue Oval teams, including DJR, Blanchard Racing Team, Tickford Racing, and Grove Racing. Walkinshaw Andretti United will construct their own, using controlled chassis kit supplied by PACE.

Representing the S650 Gen3 Mustang’s future in Australian motorsport comes with its own challenges for DJR, with many senior Ford staff based in the United States and have conflicting schedules.

“Being the link between Ford Performance, Ford and Supercars, we meet with Ford over in the US twice a week,” DJR Chief Engineer Perry Kapper told Supercars.com.

“We do our meetings early in the morning which is their knock-off time. They are just finishing up their day and we are starting.

“We've been doing that for a couple of years now.

“There's a lot that goes into it that people don't sort of see, it's a big responsibility.”

Featuring as part of Ford’s global motorsport programme, the new-look Mustang will debut in NASCAR in 2024, with a GT3 entry also earmarked for the Bathurst 12 Hour.

Working closely with the high-performance division to steer Gen3 development locally is not lost on Kapper, who has led the homologation project for the past two years.

“This is an unprecedented amount of change to Supercars, we've never had engine, chassis and body all in one go," Kapper said.

“We definitely don't take it lightly and I don't think it's lost on anyone involved, particularly myself and Bobby, who's heading up the engine side of things.

“The level of resource that we have access to through Ford Performance is huge.

“It's definitely a little feather in our cap, it’s interesting and exciting.”

The 2023 Repco Supercars Championship will commence with the Newcastle 500 from 10-12 March 2023.

Tickets for the Newcastle event, the first of the Gen3 era, are on sale now through Supercars.com and Ticketek.com.

The 2022 Repco Supercars Championship will conclude on the Adelaide streets in December. Tickets are on sale now.