Ford Performance chief Mark Rushbrook says insufficient transparency from the Supercars is a key frustration that could see the American brand withdraw from the series as debate over parity rumbles on.
The first season of the Gen3 technical regulations has been dominated by arguments over the performance parity between the Chevrolet Camaro and the Ford Mustang.
Ford has just two wins so far this season, though the first of those, in Newcastle, came after Triple Eight was stripped of a comfortable one-two finish due to a technical disqualification.
The Mustang has fared only slightly better in qualifying, taking four poles for an average highest grid spot of 3.47, well behind the Camaro’s average best of 1.15.
Rushbrook has been outspoken about Ford’s parity concerns all season, and the American executive was on the front foot again following another uninspiring weekend in Sydney, hinting that ongoing disparity between the marques could trigger a walkout.
“Am I frustrated with Supercars? Yes,” he said, per Cars Guide. “Do we evaluate our future in Supercars? We evaluate our future in every series on a very regular basis and we look for the ability to win races and championships. We don’t race if we can’t.
“Any decision with any series, whether it’s to join or to leave, is a difficult decision, because we don’t want to be coming and going into series.”
Supercars opened an inquiry into the apparent disparity following the Darwin Triple Crown and has implemented technical changes to the Ford cars at the two subsequent rounds.
In Townsville the Mustang was granted downforce-boosting tweaks to its rear wing, and at the weekend’s Sydney SuperNight the Ford motor benefited from a new throttle body.
Both were aimed at improving driveability, with rear tyre wear considered a major Ford handicap.
A two-race sample size isn’t large enough to make definitive conclusions, but early signs offer limited hope for a turnaround in the form guide.
Anton de Pasquale became the first Ford driver to take the chequered flag first this season in Townsville, and a Mustang has been on the podium in the last four races, boosting its average best finish well above the season trend.
But the competitiveness of the overall Ford pack has declined. In the last four races an average of just 2.75 Mustang drivers have featured in the top 10, down from the season average of 3.59.
Its qualifying form is unchanged, with a representative average of four Ford cars starting in the top 10.
Rushbrook credited series organisers for continuing to assess Ford’s parity concerns, but he remains frustrated by the process, which he described as too opaque to accurately judge progress.
“They are starting to make the changes,” he said. “I wish they would have done it before the season started, but they are making changes now to try and improve the situation.”
“There are certainly still limits or things that aren’t happening, and I’ve been very open about it.
“The transparency of data [is one of those things]. I can sit here in this building [the Ford Performance technical centre in Charlotte] or I can sit on my couch at home and I can see what every car on a NASCAR track is doing. I know what [Toyota NASCAR driver] Martin Truex Jr is doing with his throttle on every single lap, I know his brake pressure.
“I can’t see that in Supercars, and without that transparency of data, it’s very difficult for us as a manufacturer or our teams, that we love, to understand what the differences are in the cars — the Chevy and the Ford — and what changes we can make in the parameters and the restrictions that Supercars [employ].
“It’s a guessing game in many ways.”
Rushbrook said improving the parity process was crucial to keeping his brand involved in the sport.
“I think it [competing in Supercars] can make sense. If we didn’t think it would make sense, we wouldn’t have pursued the development of the Gen3 car to race there,” he said.
“I think it still makes sense, Ford and Chevy racing against each other. Yes, we want to race against a lot of different manufacturers, but we can do that in other series. To race Ford against Chevy in Australia is still a great opportunity.
“But where it’s proven to maybe not be the opportunity we thought it was [is] — the parity process worked with the Gen2 cars, when it was the same engine architecture, the same displacement — the parity tools did not advance to work with rules that allowed different engine architectures and different displacements or even the body and aerodynamics. The tools just aren’t what they need to be.”
