BNT V8 SuperTourers is stepping up its programme to ensure that all cars adhere to the rules that govern the championship.

Series ceo Ray Noonan says this move is partly in response to claims that some of the seven-litre engines develop more power than others, and also part of the ongoing effort to improve the category and ensure transparency.

“Our data certainly do not show that there are any problems with parity of engine performance,” he said.

“We dyno-tested five cars following our final at Pukekohe last year and the cars were within one percent of each other, and the outputs were identical to those of new engines.

“The highest placed car showed the lowest horsepower on the dyno which was very pleasing, given how important parity is to our series.”

The new enforcement programme should give the teams confidence that they are all on an equal footing, Noonan says.

The category is now investing in new resources to help develop additional benchmarks to enable more accurate measurement of engine characteristics. Any performance changes would then be immediately detected.

“The redefining of job roles in the full-time team at BNT V8 SuperTourers will see a dedicated full-time person managing technical compliance and evolution, and we are stepping up the role of our scrutineers to be more proactive in enforcement,” Noonan says. Most of the scrutineers have MotorSport New Zealand credentials.

The controlled aspect to the series is a big drawcard for drivers looking to pit themselves against the best in the identical race cars. Parity and component control are the founding principles of the series and enforcement is an ongoing focus for series chiefs.

International Motorsport team owner Lyall Williamson, who ran Ant Pedersen to second in the 2013 championship, scoffs at claims that there are significant differences in power outputs.

“At each meeting they do speed traces, by radar, on all the cars,” Williamson says. “The difference from the front of the field to the back is less than 3kmh and I don’t know any other class where it’s closer than that. The traces are given to each team after the meetings.

“Those engines that we use cost $18,000 and I don’t know where you would find an engine that’s that competitive and that cheap to run. Yes you blueprint them but you’re pretty restricted in what you’re allowed to do.”

SuperTourers dyno-tests the engine at the back wheel when each car is built and finds that the power outputs – about 550hp – are very uniform.

Every engine is inspected and sealed when first fitted to a car. If for any reason the seal needs to be broken, the chief scrutineer re-inspects the components and re-seals the engine before it is refitted to a car.