Originally Posted by Mixer
No, its been penalised because it has made a joke of the rules and shouldn't have been allowed as presented.
Merc, Nissan, Falcon, VF and ZB all used as many production parts as possible and therefore were a strong likeness of the original car, and engine and specific team performance aside, were all relatively equal and suited the competition.
Other than issues created with the height of the roof Ford and Penske completely took the ****, to the point where everything on the car is bespoke, because they shrunk and repositioned all the headlights and so on, extended the rear deck for a double wing etc, purely for aero benefit. The road going Mustang is a mean looking thing but its front has the aero of a brick. The Camaro will too.
Meanwhile the Marc car and TA2 look more like the road car, and Penske has kicked an own goal by creating a car so far out of the intentions of the rules and showing just how outdated the testing regime was, that I am not sure anybody will bother homologating another car unless it is addressed. People have ****ed and moaned about 888 for years, but the combined resources of Penske & Ford Motorsport easily eclipses the whole Supercars field.
Supercars badly needed Ford coming back, but I think in hindsight that Dave Stuart may not have been expert enough or internationally connected enough to do the role he was tasked with - and I think we're seeing that addressed now Adrian Burgess and Campbell Little, two very smart guys with strong backgrounds inside and outside the series.
Meanwhile even with adjustments, Mustang drivers of talent can repeatedly drive through the field, and the car is flattering those of lesser ability.
Scotty is going to have the series locked up ridiculously early, and it isn't good for the series. If not for the friendly fire incidents and inconsistency, nobody else would even get a look in.
To be fair, Scotty won in a GRM Holden, Volvo, the DJRTP Falcon and is killing everybody in the Mustang. He deserves all the credit for putting it together no matter what, but the issues around the car do take the shine off. Somewhat like Skaife in the GTR.
But it also seems that DJRTP are spending more to run their 2 cars than the next 3 teams put together, and this isn't really good.
After a remarkable period of stability I have shades of Group A or current F1. "Creative" rule interpretations, unsustainable spending, and a runaway champion half way through the season.
The only interest might be whether the Mustang can be beaten at Bathurst.
Meanwhile I've been watching TCR most of the year, and haven't bothered to watch a Supercar race in its entirety.
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