Supercars continuing engine validation process

Engine testing and the use of torque sensors is being undertaken at Queensland Raceway to validate recent findings ahead of the 2024 season.

A Dick Johnson Racing Ford Mustang, in its 2023 livery, hit the track at Queensland Raceway on Wednesday in an engine validation exercise.

It comes after a DJR Ford and PremiAir Chevrolet Camaro tested with torque sensors at Queensland Raceway two weeks ago, with both cars also run at Southport Airfield.

The latest running has given Supercars a chance to gauge how best to use the sensors, with DJR set to run both specifications of engine on Wednesday.

“Effectively this an extension of the previous two days of torque testing,” Supercars General Manager of Motorsport Tim Edwards told Supercars.com.

“We were at Southport [Airfield] in December then we did some competitive work between the two makes at Queensland Raceway with torque sensors.

“In effect, DJR have got two different specifications of engine, and on the same car with the same torque sensor on the same day, they’re going to get some comparative running.”

The engine validation work comes after Supercars conducted an historic wind tunnel test in the United States.

Using world-best practice, a Ford Mustang and Chevrolet Camaro were taken to the world-class Windshear facility to secure aero parity ahead of the new season.

The successful wind tunnel testing has allowed for further engine validation testing ahead of the new season, with Supercars developing its tools to make informed decisions.

“We did installation running at Southport before Christmas to see that they worked and we got some information out of it,” Edwards said.

“The testing we did a couple of weeks ago with the DJR car and PremiAir car was further validation,” Edwards said.

“That was different circumstances obviously with acceleration out of corners as opposed to going up and down a straight.

“Out of that, DJR refined a couple of things, and the best way to validate the differences between the specs was to do an engine change in the middle of the day to validate the differences, allowing them to refine what will be the spec engine for Ford teams in 2024."

Queensland teams will test at Queensland Raceway on Monday February 5 before southern teams test at Winton Motor Raceway on Wednesday February 7.

The new season will commence at the Thrifty Bathurst 500 on February 23-25. Tickets are on sale now.