Supercars to make Chevrolet Camaro updates after parity investigation

Supercars will make a parity change to the Chevrolet Camaro teams in time for this weekend’s fourth round at Ruapuna Park in Christchurch, New Zealand.

On Thursday, the Supercars Commission notified the teams that small changes will be made to the Camaro front splitter and rear wing to shift the car's aerodynamic balance rearwards.

In a note to the teams the Commission said: “Following the necessary analysis and consultation with the HT's, Supercars have determined a change be made to the Chevrolet Camaro to shift its aerodynamic balance rearwards making it similar to the Ford Mustang and Toyota Supra.

"This aerodynamic difference was evident in the wind tunnel results and now further substantiated with vehicle track data. The changes are a reduction in front splitter leading edge, rear wing position rearward/upwards and reduced rear wing angle.

"The change will be made for this weekend's ITM Christchurch Super 440. Further testing and CFD will be undertaken in the coming weeks, and you are reminded Supercars reserve the right to reverse, revise or modify the changes for the next two rounds.”

Ironically, Supercars made a minor shift in the aero profile of the Camaro during the off-season, which recently drew criticism from Erebus Motorsport CEO Barry Ryan. Speaking on Fox Sports’ MotorRacing 360 programme, Ryan criticised the minor changes made to the Chevrolets.

Will Brown, Triple Eight Race Engineering Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

Photo by: Edge Photographics

“Unfortunately, GM allowed a change in the off-season, which shouldn’t have happened,” he said. “We were the incumbent manufacturer. We shouldn’t have had a change. I tried to argue it, but it didn’t matter. For some reason we shifted the balance three percent to the front.”

Ryan further said that the Chevrolet camp did not have the top-line drivers that race for Ford and Toyota teams this season.

“At the end of the day, I’ll be totally honest, we haven’t got any A-grade drivers," he said. "Some of the drivers won’t like hearing that, but they’re not A-grade drivers. We haven’t got multiple winners in our GM camp.

“We’ve got a couple rookie drivers, and particularly Jobe [Stewart], none of our set-ups work anymore, so we are trying to get us set up that we can work that he can deal with, as well as being a rookie.

“Not making excuses, but we should have never changed the balance. And unfortunately they changed it. We’re stuck with what we’ve got at the moment. No one’s asking for more downforce. We’re just asking for a shift back so we can balance the car up again.”

This weekend will see four races over three days, starting on Friday afternoon.