Supercars introduced their Gen3 series with a Sportech steering rack, but it faced numerous issues throughout 2023 and into 2024. In response, Tickford Racing developed their own steering rack, which some teams have already adopted this year. This alternative could potentially become the standard across all cars on the grid.

At Friday’s team principals press conference, team owner Matt Stone, Walkinshaw Andretti United’s Carl Faux, and Jamie Whincup of Triple Eight Race Engineering discussed the steering rack situation. Both Stone and Faux confirmed they had tested both the Sportech and Tickford steering racks with varying degrees of success.

Jamie Whincup emphasized the ongoing work with the Sportech rack while noting that the Tickford-built equivalent might be adopted permanently. “There’s been a lot of talk about steering racks since Gen3 was introduced,” Whincup said. “I don’t have a stake in either, I just want the best product for the category. The Tickford rack, being made by a charter holder and in-house, is appealing.”

He also mentioned their efforts to optimize the Sportech rack for Supercars, acknowledging the progress made while recognizing Tickford’s simultaneous improvements. “It’s a big discussion in commission-land right now to figure out the best rack. Once we determine that, we’ll need to decide how and when it can be implemented if the Tickford rack proves superior to the Sportech.”

Triple Eight tested the Tickford-built rack and provided feedback that led to significant improvements. Stone expressed his preference for the Tickford rack, highlighting its reliability. “Performance-wise and driver feel, there’s not a huge difference between the two,” Stone said. “The Tickford rack is Australian-made, by people within Supercars, to a standard we’re more accustomed to. The biggest factor for me is reliability. Our experience with the Sportech rack shows it performs okay but can have unexpected failures. The Tickford rack seems much more robust.”

Matt Stone and Carl Faux confirmed they had tried both steering racks with varying degrees of success. Stone said he was a fan of the alternative rack, adding, “Performance-wise and driver feel, there’s not a huge variance between the two. The Tickford rack is made by people within Supercars, to a standard we’re much more accustomed to. The biggest driving factor for me is reliability. In our experience with the Sportech rack, it performs okay but can have unexpected failures. The Tickford rack seems much more robust.”

The decision on whether to adopt the Tickford steering rack as the standard for Supercars is critical, as it directly impacts vehicle performance and reliability. Teams continue to test and evaluate both racks to determine the best solution for the category’s future.