news-engine

The factory Ford team today announced the discovery of an engine issue that it says has been hampering an out-of-form Brown. According to the team, an incorrect airflow restrictor was supplied by Supercars and has been fitted to the Ford engine in Brown’s car across the season so far. That, says Triple Eight, has come at a significant performance disadvantage, which it has averaged at 0.15s per lap. Supercars has now responded to Triple Eight’s claim, explaining that it had originally loaned the restrictor – measuring a millimetre smaller than usual – to the team for its pre-season launch event in Geelong. “Supercars acknowledges the finding that car 888 has competed during the 2026 Supercars season with an air restrictor that is one millimetre smaller in size than is prescribed for the Ford Mustang,” read a statement from the series. “The component was loaned by Supercars to Triple Eight Race Engineering (T8RE) for demonstration purposes only at the team’s launch in February. “The air restrictor subsequently remained fitted to Car 888 through the Perth Super 440. “Neither party identified the discrepancy until it was discovered by T8RE during preparations for next weekend’s event in Ipswich. “Throughout the Supercars season, routine scrutineering and compliance checks are carried out at random by Supercars’ Technical department, covering a vast range of components and systems. “As of the Perth event, the air restrictor fitted to car 888 had not been selected for inspection during those checks. “Supercars is reviewing the circumstances surrounding this matter and will evaluate opportunities to strengthen its technical and operational procedures moving forward. “Supercars acknowledges and appreciates T8RE’s identifying and prompt reporting of the matter to Supercars.”