It's not so much using a "long rod" but it's the rod/stroke ratio. It's a fine tuning kind of thing, it adds a small fraction horsepower, but that might be more than the other guys get

So what's the rod/stroke ratio of a stock A12? 1.74 A14 is 1.73

Is that considered a long or short? Chevy small block considers that ratio a long-rod motor (a stock 350 is only 1.64 and a long-rod 350 is traditionally 1.72)

30 years ago 1.8 was considered ideal for Pro Stock V8 racing, but now 1.7 is considered better

So the A-series already has long rods! Some even say that since the heads aren't the latest type of high flow designs, using a shorter rod will make more power