Larkham impressed by Gen3 engine work

Mark Larkham is impressed by Supercars' ongoing efforts to paritise the two Gen3 engines.

Supercars has long been measuring the two engines from builders KRE Race Engines and Mostech Race Engines/Herrod Performance Engines.

The engines have completed over 1000 hours of running on a dynamometer.

Larkham hosted a Supercars series late in 2021, titled Gen3 Unpacked, and went into detail on the engine programme.

Six months down the line, Larkham was blown away by the latest results, with the two powerplants close to parity.

“These are two completely different engines,” the driver turned broadcaster said.

“We’ve had to get horsepower the same, torque the same, fuel usage the same.

“Remember I did a piece at the dyno, where at that point in time, they were getting them really close.

“[Supercars engine guru Craig Hasted] gave me a map… that is remarkable.

“That’s horsepower, 600 of it; that’s your torque curve, literally overlaid.

“Fuel usage, down to about one percent. They have absolutely nailed it."

The Gen3 ruleset marks a key change for Supercars after nearly 30 years of 5.0 litre V8 engines.

The GM Gen3 engine is a single camshaft engine with two valves per cylinder.

Ford’s Gen3 engine will have four camshafts with four valves per cylinder.

Larkham was also encouraged by the driver response to aerodynamic changes on the cars.

Several drivers have noted how the Gen3-spec cars are more difficult to handle, something Larkham believes will contribute to closer racing.

It comes after Supercars recently completed aero testing in Toowoomba.

“A lot of them have whinged about it, which is perfect,” Larkham said.

“They’ve taken aero off the cars to make them harder to drive.

“Drivers hate that; we love it. That’s what we want.”