Ten Supercars have been dispatched to Dunlop Motorsport's Melbourne facility for a multi-day Centre of Gravity (CoG) evaluation, as the series doubles down on its parity review between the Chevrolet Camaro and Toyota Supra. The move comes after persistent lobbying from teams unhappy with the initial CoG findings earlier this year.
Back in February, Supercars tested just three cars: the Triple Eight Ford Mustang, Walkinshaw TWG Racing Toyota Supra, and Team 18 Chevrolet Camaro. That test forced Chevrolet teams to relocate 4.4kg of ballast to the top of their roll-cages—a decision that left them fuming. Team 18 immediately cried foul, arguing their car had been prepped for wind tunnel testing while the other two were "real race cars". The discontent sparked formal requests for a re-test.
Both the Chevrolet homologation team (Team 18) and Toyota homologation team (Walkinshaw TWG Racing) pushed for the CoG topic to be revisited. Walkinshaw TWG even listed CoG as a priority item in their post-Ipswich review submission to Supercars. The series listened, and now a more representative sample of ten cars is being put through the wringer at Melbourne.
The test fleet comprises three Fords, three Toyotas, and four Chevrolets. Ford is represented by Triple Eight (#888), Grove Racing (#26), and Tickford Racing (#6). Toyota has Walkinshaw TWG Racing (#2) and Brad Jones Racing (#8 and #14). Chevrolet brings Erebus Motorsport (#9), Team 18 (#20 and #15 wildcard), and PremiAir Racing (#31). This broader selection aims to provide a clearer picture of weight distribution across the field.
The CoG procedure involves physically tipping each car on its side to find its tipping point, then applying a formula to derive the centre of gravity position. Supercars has mandated CoG testing since the introduction of the Gen2 Ford Mustang in 2019, as part of its technical parity framework. The goal is to ensure no manufacturer gains an unfair advantage through differing weight distribution.
Parity tensions flared at the AirTouch 500 weekend after Supercars granted revised aerodynamics that pushed the Camaro outside the agreed 'parity box'. Ford teams fired off legal letters, claiming the change breached the Teams Racing Charter—a binding contract between each team and the series. On Saturday morning, Supercars made a secondary adjustment to reduce the Camaro's downforce, bowing to the orchestrated pressure from Ford camps.
Notably, parity reviews can only be triggered after the first endurance event if a specific issue is identified beforehand—which is exactly the case with CoG. This explains why Supercars acted swiftly to organise the Melbourne test. The data gathered will inform further technical adjustments, potentially shaping the competitive balance for the rest of the season.
For fans, this behind-the-scenes tug-of-war highlights the intense scrutiny in Supercars, where every gram and millimetre can mean the difference between victory and defeat. As teams prepare for the next round, engineers are burning the midnight oil to ensure their cars comply without sacrificing performance. All eyes now turn to Supercars' final verdict once the Melbourne data is crunched.
Baca Juga
Supercars menggelar uji ulang Centre of Gravity di Melbourne dengan 10 mobil untuk atasi ketidakseimbangan paritas antara Camaro dan Supra.
Patrick Cameron akan bergabung dengan saudaranya Josh di Mustang Cup Australia Sydney, membawa #96 dan bersaing ketat di kelas V8.
Tim Leahey kembali ke GT4 Australia dan akan berduet dengan bintang Porsche Dylan O'Keeffe di kelas Silver-Am Cup bersama tim Ashley Seward Motorsport.
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