Supercars sets Gen3 homologation ahead of Newcastle opener

Supercars has confirmed that the homologation process for the new Gen3 cars has been completed ahead of the opening round of the season in Newcastle this weekend.

The announcement comes after ‘rigorous assessment and additional validation’ of the Ford Mustang and Chevrolet Camaro – which included a last-minute round of aerodynamic testing last week following questions from Ford bosses in the USA over whether parity had been achieved with the two new models.

With tweaks having been made to the Camaro on the back of that final test, homologation of the two cars has been set prior to cars hitting the track for opening practice on Friday as Newcastle returns to the schedule – with work set to continue as the season goes on.

“As part of upholding the integrity of the Championship, all parties will continue to work together to review data and the relative performance of our new vehicles,” Supercars CEO Shane Howard. “This is a pre-requisite for the ongoing success of the category, which falls under the parity review system which has been in place for more than 20 years.

“The Homologation teams, manufacturer representatives and Supercars worked in partnership to achieve this goal, resulting in over 2200km of running, undertaken across both brands during the VCAT validation testing last week.

“The Temora testing provided all parties with a high level of confidence, and we now look forward to the Thrifty Newcastle 500 this weekend with a completely reset and re-energised championship.”

Perry Kapper, Gen3 chief designer of the Mustang, said he felt confident that the Temora test would leave the Ford in a position to challenge on track.

“Our thanks go to Supercars and everyone involved for their commitment and effort in the Gen3 development process,” he said. “We will continue to work with Supercars throughout the year for any additional updates.

“The aerodynamic testing last week, and the adjustments made, give us confidence that we can go to the first event in Newcastle with our Ford Mustangs ready to fight, to see the cars grid up and hear the revs rise, before the lights go out on this new chapter in Supercars’ history.” Kapper said.

Triple Eight Race Engineering technical director, Jeromy Moore added that the Chevrolet camp was also now ready for racing to begin.

“During the entire VCAT validation at Temora, the two Homologation Teams and Supercars staff worked very well together, in an open and collaborative manner, to achieve the common goal,” he said.

“With over 70 runs and throughout the four days we have confidence we have come away with cars equal in measured downforce and drag.

“Now it’s time to go racing and may the best team win.”