Holden hero turned Ford ace Garth Tander has offered a cheeky dig at Chevrolet drivers after the Supercars' parity dispute boiled over ahead of the Bathurst 1000.
Tander, who first started racing Commodores in 1998, is driving a Mustang this year with Grove Racing's David Reynolds after his surprise switch.
The 46-year-old won a fifth Bathurst 1000 last year, combining for a second victory in three starts at Mount Panorama with defending Supercars champion Shane van Gisbergen.
But with Holden no longer, Tander was happy to suggest certain teams racing Camaros had been deliberately running slow during practice on Thursday.
"I think there's a few of a particular brand of car that are running very, very heavy at the moment," the veteran said after seemingly not wanting to buy into the parity storm.
Tander had tried to deflect an earlier question: "We're going to do exactly what we did at Sandown, focus on our own performance and focus on making our car as good as it can be and see what happens on Sunday".
Tander's suggestion came after Ford teams claimed they were at a "continued disadvantage" after proposed changes to their cars were rejected by Supercars.
Mooted aerodynamic adjustments to the Mustangs were knocked back ahead of Sunday's race, prompting a strong response just hours before practice began at the famed Mount Panorama circuit on Thursday.
In a rare show of unity, all Ford teams - led by Shell V-Power, Walkinshaw Andretti United and Tickford - came together to issue a joint statement on Thursday about what they deem a lack of parity with their Chevrolet rivals.
"The independent data shows that the Mustang will be at a continued disadvantage for the biggest race of the year, which we believe is unacceptable - and not what our sport is built upon," the statement said.
In the first season racing with Gen3 cars, Camaros make up the top five in the championship standings, with Shell V-Power's Anton de Pasquale the best-placed Ford driver in sixth.
Supercars said a parity review system has been in place all year, with a trigger point deemed to be five consecutive races, or five out of eight, with the required number having "not been met at this time".
