James Courtney didn't hold back when discussing the aerodynamic changes to the Chevrolet Camaro at the latest Supercars round. The Team 18 driver felt firsthand how the revised splitter skids approved by Supercars ahead of the event had significantly altered the car's behaviour, especially at the front.
The change widened the undertray tunnel between the splitter skids by 70mm, effectively increasing overall downforce. However, the decision infuriated Ford teams as it put the Camaro outside the agreed 'parity box'. The situation heated up, triggering a flurry of legal letters to Supercars on Friday evening.
Amid the controversy, Camaro drivers swept all three Friday practice sessions. Anton De Pasquale and Jayden Ojeda downplayed the impact, with Ojeda claiming "you'd have to be pretty incredible to feel the difference". But Courtney, who had limited experience with the previous package, offered a different view.
"Definitely could feel the front change," Courtney told MotorRacing 360. "It does affect the car the way it pitches on corner entry, because it changes the airflow, the amount of air that goes underneath the car, so it is a big change. The percentages that we're working with now because we've lost a lot of downforce with the Gen3, it has a bigger influence. Smaller changes now have a bigger influence on the car."
The key goal of the change was believed to be reducing the car's pitch sensitivity, following a two-part effort earlier this year to move the Camaro's aerodynamic balance rearward. However, the legal challenge from Ford teams resulted in Supercars making a second tweak on Saturday morning: demanding Chevrolet teams reduce their rear wing angle by 0.3 degrees. Camaro runners feared this would hurt their rear tyres, though its impact was masked by Sunday's wet weather.
"The only place we could feel the difference was the exit of 10, when you're on throttle and coming up over the crest with the off-cambered corner," Courtney explained of the wing angle. "The grip is quite marginal there anyway, so that's where we could really feel it work the rear tyre harder. But it wasn't a massive change. The bigger change was the front 70mm."
Supercars noted when granting the 70mm increase that the Camaro's undertray tunnel had been reduced by 300mm during off-season wind tunnel testing. The Camaro had entered the testing as the datum car, but received changes amid difficulties matching the Triple Eight-fettled Ford Mustang and new Toyota Supra to it. Triple Eight has made clear in the aftermath of The Bend that the aerodynamic debate is not over, with Mark Dutton declaring it is "pushing to get the aero situation reviewed".
Supercars is also working through parity testing on centre of gravity, barometric pressure and engine braking ahead of the Bathurst 1000 on October 8-11. With the changes continuing to be a talking point, the battle on track and in the meeting room is expected to continue.
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