Sandbagging has been a hot topic in the Supercars paddock today following the decision from the series to not approve an aero change for the Ford Mustang.
The conspiracy theories have ranged from the Chevrolet teams sandbagging at The Bend back in August to avoid the parity threshold being triggered, to a secret agreement between the Chevrolet brigade to not show their hand speed-wise during the two practice sessions today.
The latter was, according to the speculation, to avoid on-the-run gear cut changes that have been seen at other rounds this year.
In the end it was Chevrolets on top in both practice sessions, Erebus leading the way in practice 1 with Will Brown and again in practice 2 with David Russell.
There were, however, three Fords in the top five in the first session and two in the top four in the second session.
Tander was the fastest of the Fords in the all-co-driver second session, albeit more than six tenths slower than Russell in the Erebus Camaro.
When asked if the smattering of Fords near the top of the times across practice gave any indication that the Mustang could be competitive this weekend, Tander made his thoughts on the sandbagging claims clear with a cryptic quip.
"I think there’s a few of a particular brand of car that are running very, very heavy at the moment," said the five-time Bathurst 1000 winner.
Tander went on to explain that the team has taken its focus off the parity saga for the remainder of the weekend.
"We’re going to do exactly what we did at Sandown and focus on our own performance and focus on making our car as quick as it can be," he said. "And then see what happens on Sunday."
Reynolds and Tander were shaping up to be the fastest of the Fords at Sandown, Tander sitting fourth in the early stages of the race when a wheel nut failure left him beached in the sand.
