The 2015 IndyCar Series is about to get underway and manufacturers are rolling out all the new hardware for the coming season. Honda unveiled the aero kit that its teams will use for road course and short oval race at an event in Los Angeles. We were invited to get an up-close look at the Japanese automaker's latest open-wheel creation. The aero kit was designed by Honda Performance Development (HPD) using many of the same techniques that helped create the performance arm's successful prototype sports cars, which have captured wins in the now defunct American Le Mans Series, Tudor United SportsCar Championship, and World Endurance Championship. Computer-Aided Design (CAD) and Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) played major roles in the kit's development. Nearly 200 individual pieces make up the kit, which can be fitted onto an existing Dallara IndyCar chassis. The kit was tested in a wind tunnel before getting an on-track shakedown at several road courses. This kit will be used for road course and short oval races, with a large oval aero package to be revealed later.
he 2014 Indy 500 winner Ryan Hunter-Reay was on hand to unveil the new kit, which was shown on his own DHL-liveried car. Compared to the Chevrolet aero kit that debuted last month, Honda's kit seems to have a lot more winglets on the front end. The aero work around the rear wheels is also substantially different. Though the design looks radical, American Honda motorsports manager T.E. McHale was quick to point out that the six Honda-powered teams don't have to use all of the aero kit's components. Instead, the kit provides teams and drivers with a wide range of available configurations to tune their cars. This has the added benefit of adding "visual variety" to the field, which IndyCar has lacked in past seasons.
The aero kits are the latest chapter in IndyCar's effort to distinguish its manufacturers and bring technical innovation and individuality to a form of racing that had turned turned closer to "spec" -- identical cars with identical specifications -- in recent years.
Beginning with the Verizon IndyCar Series season opener March 29 at St. Petersburg, Fla., Honda and Chevrolet will field cars that, because of the aero kits, will be distinguishable from each other. The regulations surrounding the aero kits encourage experimentation and innovation, HPD officials said.
In recent years, all teams had the same Dallara DW12 chassis. In 2015, that chassis will be outfitted with either the Chevy or Honda aero kit, in any of its numerous combinations of parts and pieces designed to affect airflow over the car.
"You've got a Honda look and a Chevrolet look, but more than that, what you've really got is competition -- car competition," IndyCar president of operations and competition", Derrick Walker said. "Before it was team competition because everybody had the same car. Now you've actually got performance built into different packages." It's all about options," HPD vice president and chief operating officer Stephen Eriksen said. "We've given teams options to tune the car to the conditions, to the driver's needs and to the track to get the most out of it. It's really going t be a fun and interesting year to learn about the creative ways the teams can run this car."
Teams and drivers will be able to test the kits beginning Friday, and weekend sessions have been booked at NOLA Motorsports Park in New Orleans, Texas Motor Speedway and Sebring International Raceway. On March 16-17, an open session will be held at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Ala.
Maybe you can get some good photos??!!
The 2015 Verizon IndyCar Series kicks off on March 29 with the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, Fla., and Honda's IndyCar racers will show what they can do during open testing beginning March 16.
dangit!!! This would haven been perfect. My eldest son's spring break is next week and I'm off at work. Unfortunately, there are already plans made.