Supercars details engine lottery for teams in Gen3

The Australian series has moved to a random allocation for engines due to the centralisation of providers.

While previously there was complete freedom with engine supply, some teams having their own in-house shops while others sourced motors from rival teams or specialist builders, that isn't the case with the new Gen3 motors.

Instead there are two dedicated engine suppliers, with Herrod Performance Engines building all of the Ford V8s and KRE the GM V8s.

The random allocation system has therefore been devised to avoid any claims of favouritism.

The system has now been put to use for the first time with all teams receiving their first batch of motors.

According to Supercars, the lottery was conducted using a computerised random number generator and was supervised by the team principals as well as Supercars CEO Shane Howard and head of motorsport Adrian Burgess.

All motors have also been across the dyno of Supercars' own engine expert Craig Hasted to ensure parity.

“With the move to a common engine supplier for the respective Gen3 models, Supercars took the step of randomising the allocation to ward off any suggestions of favouritism," explained Burgess.

“Given suppliers could not predict which particular engine would go where, not saying they would, but the lottery meant there was no scope for the builders to favour any team, which will ensure drivers have equal opportunity to perform at their best when they hit the track.

“No one will build a special engine for a special customer.”

 

Each team now has a single motor per car with a second motor per entry to follow when supply is available.

“We’ve all been pretty keen to get our hands on the engines,” Matt Stone Racing owner Matt Stone told the official Supercars website.

“The lottery was something different, but it's done to make sure it was fair and open.

“It’s good to have that key part of the Gen3 puzzle done so we can learn more about the cars.

“For us now, it’s about ticking the boxes and getting it done right. It’s really exciting — it's the biggest undertaking that we’ve done, by far.

“We want to get out onto the track as soon as possible, but we want the cars to be 100% ready. We’ll keep working away and get it all done right.”

There are still question marks over when teams will test their cars, with plans for the Queensland and Melbourne (plus Brad Jones Racing) teams to group their running now unlikely to happen.

Most Queensland teams are expected to run for the first time on 7 February while some of the southern teams may not hit the track until the week of 13 February.