Triple Eight has pointed the finger at Supercars over the latest lack of pace of the Ford Mustang pushed by Will Brown, and Supercars has admitted {that a} half it equipped to the crew was undersized.
On Wednesday afternoon Triple Eight crew principal and co-owner Jamie Whincup issued an announcement during which he revealed that an engine air restrictor, a component Supercars stipulates all of the Ford engines should run, was the fallacious measurement.
“At 7pm final night time we discovered a major concern on automotive #888,” mentioned the assertion.
“Because the begin of this season, automotive #888 has been working with an undersized engine airflow restrictor. This half manages the airflow into the engine and has a major unfavorable impression on engine efficiency, and subsequently lap time.
“This isn’t a component we, Triple Eight or Pink Bull Ampol Racing, manufacture. It is a equipped half from Supercars anticipated to be the identical for all 11 Ford Mustangs, distributed at the beginning of the season and anticipated to be run for the entire season.
“We as a crew are taking duty and wish to deeply apologise to everybody concerned for permitting this to occur.”
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A number of hours later Supercars made an announcement of its personal, during which it admitted that the half was not of the proper specification.
“Supercars acknowledges the discovering that Automobile 888 has competed in the course of the 2026 Supercars season with an air restrictor that’s one millimetre smaller in measurement than is prescribed for the Ford Mustang,” it mentioned.
“The part was loaned by Supercars to Triple Eight Race Engineering (T8RE) for demonstration functions solely on the crew’s launch in February.
“The air restrictor subsequently remained fitted to Automobile 888 via the Perth Tremendous 440. Neither social gathering recognized the discrepancy till it was found by T8RE throughout preparations for subsequent weekend’s occasion in Ipswich.
“All through the Supercars season, routine scrutineering and compliance checks are carried out at random by Supercars’ Technical division, overlaying an enormous vary of parts and techniques. As of the Perth occasion, the air restrictor fitted to Automobile 888 had not been chosen for inspection throughout these checks.
“Supercars is reviewing the circumstances surrounding this matter and can consider alternatives to strengthen its technical and operational procedures shifting ahead.
“Supercars acknowledges and appreciates T8RE’s figuring out and immediate reporting of the matter to Supercars.”
Triple Eight has additionally confirmed that it might nonetheless proceed to have a brand new automotive for Brown, who’s at present in seventh place within the championship factors, on the subsequent spherical of the collection at Queensland Raceway on 21-23 August.
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