The biggest problem with supercars, and Formula 1 is all the stupid rules. They should either be standard street cars like the good old days, or race cars. Not the homologated rubbish we have now. Pretend Holden's and Fords that are all the same because the rules don't let anyone do anything different. So I say good on team Penske for showing that it's the rules slowing everyone down and that the sport would be a lot more interesting if the teams were allowed to build their engines properly!
I can understand some of the rules and rules are rules so if you break em you must pay the price.
I don't think you can compare F1 to Supertaxis. F1 create rules to slow cars down because if they didn't they would be going over 400km/h and the risk factor would be to great and as the premiere race category they also need to showcase technology. Unfortunately with the current generation of F1 it has become a tech race more than a physical race and with the restrictive rules once the cars are built not much changes. Hopefully the new 2021 rules will see a change.
As for the supertaxis, I totally agree that the race cars need to have something on common with the road cars. Seeing as their isn't even a real Holden any more the point almost seem mute. However, I can understand some of the engine rules which were designed to make the category more competitive by preventing the use of exotic materials which only the teams with the deepest pockets can afford. The #17 cars engine was found to be outside of the required specifications and they should have paid the price but they didn't and this will just make other teams want to push the boundaries with the rules too.
It's a commercial problem fundamentally. The good old days of Group A, C and even improved production of the 70's are viewed thru rose coloured glasses when it comes to competition. Really only 1 mousetrap had a realistic chance of winning (particularly in Group A) and everybody else made up the numbers. The manufacturers near universally bailed from Group A in the late 80's and it was superseded by Super touring, (what became) V8 Supercars and DTM which were all much better attempts at parity formulas. Group A was supposed to be a parity formula however the rules were very naive and were 2 - 3 steps behind technology at every turn.
Fast forward to now and the parity model is probably the best it ever has been. Going back to production based stuff just won't work. Look at the roaring (NOT!) success the Utes have been. Dual cab diesels are the biggest category in Australia by a fair margin so you would think it would relate well to the public. Seems not. I personally like them and look forward to the V8's back in them this coming year. Seems we are moving away from production again.
Supercar is not bad. I think the public will cop not being a production car so long as the silhouette is pretty close (need a heap of work here to make the Mustang fit). The last couple of seasons have been monumental for Supercar. 888 started by doing a massive job homologating the ZB - pushing the rule book as far as they could. Then DJR lifted the bar again with the Mustang. They dropped the nose which further highlighted the over height glasshouse exaggerating the comical look of the car. They pushed the limits with stupid heavy zorst mufflers (etc) to bring the COG down and according to a friend I have that works as a consultant to several of the teams, had the end plates of the rear wing running all the way down nearly to the ground. Apparently there is a forward/rearward control dimension, a max height but there was no min height in the rule book - that one did get thrown out before it made prototype stage (I'm told). Can't blame DJR - they build a car to the rules and would see what they can get away with. Seems they got away with most of it at least for the first part of the season. It took Supercars a bit to catch up.
Now to the question of what is popular - Production based? Nup. All that means is unreliable. Manufacturers and sponsors won't cop that any more. What we do need is a race car that looks like a road car and back off the wings a heap. Supercar are moving that way. Not quite the amount I'd like to see - ie minimal aero so the good old dive bomb pass into a corner can be a thing again without getting some stupid penalty. Parity is there weather you like it or not. Roll forward on control parts such as suspension uprights etc (they have introduced control dampers for the next season). The well funded teams are still going to win however the chances of BJR, Kelly Racing and the like of regularly snatching wins is far greater than they have now.
