Supercars set for latest aero tests

Supercars is set to run a week of aerodynamic testing in preparation for the 2020 season alongside the DJR Team Penske and Triple Eight teams.

The Ford and Holden homologation teams will provide cars to run alongside Supercars’ FG X Falcon for a series of straightline runs that will be used to measure downforce and drag – helping to set the aero package for the two cars.

Both the Mustang and Commodore will be adjusted for 2020, with the series looking to reduce downforce levels by up to 13%in order to improve the quality of the racing on track – with the levels seen in 2019 having made it difficult for drivers to follow closely.

“We didn’t want to force the teams and manufacturers to spend money completely redeveloping the cars for 2020,” Supercars’ head of motorsport Adrian Burgess told the official series website. “We’ll be able to achieve the downforce reduction without changing the front bar, the rear wing plane or its endplates.

“Essentially we’ll be putting a wedge in the undertray of the front bar to reduce the front downforce and taking angle off the rear wing to balance it out.

“We’ve already got a very good idea of what we need through the Computational Fluid Dynamics [CFD] work we’ve done with [technology partner] D2H.

“Some time ago we gave the teams the CFD and CAD [Computer Aided Design] data, showing the numbers we need the cars to achieve at the test.”

Final aero specifications will be announced once the test is completed and the data has been evaluated.