Laying the Foundation

I know I have had a lot of IndyCar related posts lately, but lots of news has been spewing from the world of IndyCar.

Randy Bernard, IndyCar CEO, spent the first week and a half of September in Europe, talking to potential engine manufacturers and F1 teams trying to garner interest in the series, inviting any and all manufacturers to supply engines and/or aero kits for the new spec coming in 2012, as well as introducing himself. From the sounds of things, people were very receptive and welcoming of him and his vision for the new IndyCar. Hopefully good things come from this, and we will again have several engine suppliers and several aero kit providers! Brief article about his trip can be found here.

Also, Tony Cotman, the man who is in charge for writing the technical details for the 2012 car, has also been working very hard. He started a blog on Racer which will encapsulate his work and give details as they are announced. His first blog states that they need to get the size of the engine compartment specified in the next 30-45 days, that way, potential engine suppliers will have plenty of time for development. Cotman is hopeful they can begin on-track testing in September 2011, which means Cotman will have his work cut out for him.

Another thing I found interesting about his first post is that he has his mind on driver comfort. The current cars are fine for the short drivers such as Danica Patrick (5'2") and E.J. Viso (5'5"), but the tall drivers like Justin Wilson (6'3") and Graham Rahal (6'2") really have to fold themselves up and pack themselves into the current cars. Justin often reports bruised elbows and knees from being packed into the current car and being subjected to 3+ G's for a substantial period of time. Cotman notes that next month, they will fly drivers out to Italy (Dallara, the company manufacturing the standard IndyCar safety cell, is based in Italy) to ensure that all drivers will be able to fit into the new car. That's a true engineering mindset, thinking about more than the obvious! Cotman's first post can be found here.

Just two months ago, the 2012 IndyCar was nothing more than a few computer models. I am very excited to see the project actually gaining momentum with some actual facts, figures, and photos arriving in the coming months!

The Next Generation IndyCar

(This was originally posted on boilercamp.us on 7/15/10)

Yesterday, the next generation IndyCar to begin competition in 2012 was unveiled at the Indianapolis Museum of Art. Watching the announcement streaming live from www.indycar.com, I felt like a kid at Christmas once again, as everything I was hearing was music to my ears.

Dallara, the current (and only) car manufacturer, will provide what is being called the "IndyCar Safety Cell," which comprises of the driver's tub, nose, engine compartment, undertray. wing mounts, and suspension pieces among other things. Any company that so wishes can also provide the aero kit for the car. The aero kits can take on any size and shape as long as they fit within the certain size parameters and comes in at less than $70K. The safety cell from Dallara will come in at $345K, with a full car from Dallara and $385K, approximately a 45% drop in current price.

I really like this idea, and was implemented to satisfy the best of three worlds. First, Dallara has provided IndyCars for nearly a decade, and have been the sole chassis supplier for much of that time, so IndyCar wanted to give them as much business as possible. Second, most fans (myself included) wanted to see more than just one car configuration running around the track, and this formula makes is possible for cars run by each team to look completely different. Third, with the current rules package, any trick parts added by teams were their own property and would not be shared with other teams. The new formula mandates that all aero kits must be approved by the league for certain safety and cost parameters, and once it is approved, it will be made available to all the teams. That means that if Penske or Ganassi, the two powerhouses in IndyCar today, discover something groundbreaking for their cars, it must be shared with everyone else.

The new spec coming in for 2012 will be remarkable on all counts. It will be lighter, faster, racier, and come in at around half the cost of an IndyCar today. Engines are going to be turbocharged, which will allow the league to tune the cars to their whim to keep lap times safe depending on the track, and also to provide enough horsepower to make road racing interesting (the current combination of low power and heavy cars makes road racing BORING!).

Randy Bernard, the new CEO of IndyCar, has done a fantastic job since coming in at the beginning of the year at listening to everyone's request and putting together a new formula that will please everyone.

One thing that remains to be seen is whether these safety cells can be run in the Indy Lights series as well. The Lola car proposal kept a common tub between IndyCars and Indy Lights, to reduce costs for each series, and to allow IndyCar teams to easily run a Lights team to take advantage of the testing bonus offered for doing so, so that Indy Lights teams can run a few IndyCar races throughout the year relatively easily, and so that Indy Lights drivers are better prepared for the jump to IndyCar. I hope so, because it is painful to watch Indy Lights drivers dominate the field, then be completely lost behind the wheel of an IndyCar.

In all, the 2012 car announcement created as many questions as were answered, but IndyCar fans world over are surely looking forward to the 2012 season.