FORD Supercars team owner Ryan Walkinshaw says Chaz Mostert’s unusual display of frustration in Townsville is only natural given how the first half of 2023 played out.
Mustang teams and drivers have felt hamstrung throughout the opening six rounds of the Gen3 era, with work continuing to ensure the cars are on level pegging ahead of the upcoming Beaurepaires Sydney SuperNight.
Rarely one to lean into controversial subjects, Mostert unloaded after the Saturday race in Townsville.
He labelled his strategy-inspired third place a class win, declared the Gen3 Mustang’s rear wing is less effective than a TCR car, and hit out at Supercars not doing things properly – a reference to the lack of wind tunnel aero testing.
Walkinshaw backed his star and praised the 11 Ford drivers as a whole in how they’ve handled difficult circumstances.
“I think all of the Ford drivers have been quite measured across the season so far,” he told V8 Sleuth.
“There is an incredible amount of frustration because we know there are issues, proven issues, and it has taken us a long time to get to this point.”
Further changes are coming prior to Sydney Motorsport Park, with engine and driveability work unfolding since Townsville, where an upgraded rear aero package had debuted.
“The drivers, they know that as well, but it doesn’t change the fact that when you’re putting your heart and soul into a big race like Chaz had (on Saturday) and in any other season, if we had that strategy and that pace that we had, we probably would have won by five or 10 seconds,” Walkinshaw continued.
“We had a 12-lap tyre advantage on the cars in front of us and we couldn’t even get close to them so I can understand why he’s frustrated.
“That’s going to be a natural response from a lot of drivers in the situation that we have found ourselves in this year.
“But I think to be honest, the Ford drivers have actually been quite reserved and quite measured across the season considering the difficulties and frustrations that we have all felt so far.”
WAU ran a mid-season test yesterday for Mostert and teammate Nick Percat at Winton Motor Raceway.
