|
Browse by Tags
All Tags » Motorsports » IndyRacingLeague ( RSS)
-
|
Filed under: Motorsports , Acura , Honda Click on the Highcroft Acura for a high res gallery from the Detroit Sports Car Challenge The current economic climate has only just started to wreak havoc in the motorsports world, with last week's announcements that Honda is pulling out of F1 and Audi is leaving the American LeMans Series. Things are likely to get worse before they get better as other automakers, including those based in Detroit, will almost certainly cut racing programs and budgets. What won't be affected - at least for now - are Honda's non-F1 endeavors, including its motorcycle programs, the Indy Racing League and the American Le Mans Series. The ALMS and IRL programs are both operated by Honda Performance Development out of Torrance, CA. Unlike the F1 program, the IRL engine program generates revenue from the teams that lease these engines. The Acura ALMS program will definitely continue in 2009 as the team moves up from the LMP2 to the LMP1 class. The big bummer...
|
-
|
Filed under: Motorsports Officials have confirmed that the newly reunified IndyCar series is contemplating a move to turbocharged engines by 2011. The move could entice more automakers - aside from Honda, which is the only engine manufacturer currently participating in the series - to join on as well. In a meeting held this past June, IRL officials spoke with a dozen automakers about joining the series, and several sounded enthusiastic at the prospect of switching from the current naturally-aspirated V8s to smaller turbocharged engines. The new formula would call for either four or six cylinders and either one or two spools, producing as much as 750 horsepower instead of the current 650. Officials expect three or four manufacturers to sign on to the new formula, which could be announced as early as December to give the manufacturers enough time to develop the new engines. Turbochargers had been common in American open-wheel racing, but after the IRL and Champ Cars split, the former switched...
|
-
|
Filed under: Motorsports Scott Dixon, racing for the Target Chip Ganassi IRL team, is your pole sitter for the upcoming Indy 500. Scott took the front spot with a 4-lap average of 226.366 MPH, about 0.5 MPH faster than last year's pole sitter. Slotting in behind Dixon is his teammate, Dan Wheldon, just a fraction slower at 226.110 MPH. The first 22 slots in the 32-car field have been decided. Dixon and Wheldon will be followed by Ryan Briscoe, Helio Castroneves, Danica Patrick, Tony Kanann and Marco Andretti as the top six. The final 11 slots will be decided this Saturday and Sunday. The 92nd Indy 500 takes place on Sunday, May 25. [Source: AP ] Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
|
-
|
Filed under: Motorsports The new rule at the Indy Racing League (IRL) says the minimum weight for cars will now include the driver. That's good news for Ed Carpenter . At 165 pounds, he's the heaviest driver in the series (if anyone can call that "heavy"). On the other hand, it appears to penalize Danica Patrick -- the petite driver, the lightest in the series, can barely tip the scale over 100 pounds. The IRL insists the new rule isn't targeting Danica. Nevertheless, she's not very happy. The weight difference is more significant than many think. In fact, it has been estimated that a 65-pound weight difference could mean as much as a 1-mph advantage during a race. To even the field, the new rule will divide the drivers into three categories. The heavy group get weight cut, while the lightest group will get ballast added - to the vehicle's chassis, not the driver's derrière. We don't want to affect Danica's swimsuit modeling career , do we...
|
-
|
Filed under: Motorsports "In anything like this there are winners and losers and all the Champ Car teams were the losers." These are the words of Paul Stoddart, the racing team chief who campaigned his Minardi team last year in Champ Cars and previously in Formula One. Stoddart's words echo those of departed multiple champion Sebastien Bourdais ; Minardi is just one of the Champ Car teams that won't be making the switch to IRL next season following the merger between Indy and Champ Cars . In fact, most of the major teams from the Champ Car World Series won't be making the jump. As we reported earlier , Forsythe can't afford the reinvestment. Neither can Walker Racing. Newman Haas Lanigan Racing will, however, while former Champ Car co-owner Kevin Kalkhoven will give it a shot, but, like Stoddart, is also looking for a way into Formula One. With the former Minardi F1 team , now known as Toro Rosso, up for sale , and Super Aguri looking not long for this world, they...
|
-
|
Filed under: Motorsports , Earnings/Financials The fallout from the Indy Car/Champ Car merger has begun to rear its ugly head. First, superpower team Forsythe Racing announced its departure from the scene. and now Champ Car has officially filed for bankruptcy. The disruption of the scheduled 2008 Champ Car season leaves contracts broken and bills to pay, but no event revenue to balance the budget. Bankruptcy court papers reveal that the dying series has a multitude of creditors knocking on its door. One of these is engine supplier Cosworth, which is seeking payment of $1.825 million. The compounded liabilities must add up to quite a hefty sum if the series is still in the negative even after the IRL's purchase of Champ Car's major assets. As part of the deal, Tony George is shoveling out $6 million for mobile support facilities along with a total of $4 million for the promotion and production of the 2008 Long Beach Grand Prix. Once the filing passes through court, the final edition...
|
-
|
Filed under: Motorsports We had just reported that an agreement to reunite the estranged U.S. open wheel racing series of the Indy Racing League and Champ Car World Series was all but inked, and now it is officially official. The two sides have issues a press release revealing the IRL founder and CEO Tony George, who occasioned the split in the first place, and the owners of Champ Car have officially signed a deal to bring the two series together again. We reported already on all of the logistical hurdles that had to be jumped, not the least of which is combining the season schedules of both series. It appears that all of the wrinkles have been ironed out, and both sides will be presenting the nitty gritty details in a press conference that's just listed as "forthcoming". Will the joined series be a force once again in motorsports? F1 is considered the pinnacle of racing on a global scale, and NASCAR is the WWE of car racing with legions of fans, while even the Le Mans Series...
|
-
|
Filed under: Motorsports Champ Car and the Indy Racing League, the two de facto open wheel racing series in North America since CART split after the 1995 season, are reportedly close to a truce that could reunite the two series as soon as the 2008 season. AutoWeek is reporting that Tony George, owner of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and league chairman of the IRL, along with two of his associates, flew to Motegi, Japan recently to meet with track officials about changing the date of the Motegi race on April 19th. The reason is because the IRL race conflicts with the Long Beach Grand Prix, a mainstay on the Champ Car schedule. In order to consolidate the season schedules of both series, officials from both sides are apparently working hard to resolve conflicts like this. The fact that Tony George himself would fly to Japan indicates to AutoWeek that the man responsible for the split in the first place is serious about mending what he helped rend apart. And date conflicts between races...
|
-
|
Filed under: Motorsports , Honda Marco Andretti's crew swapping gears, click for more During the Detroit Grand Prix weekend, we got a backstage tour of the IRL paddock area and learned about some of what goes on. The tour kicked off in the tech inspection...
|
-
|
Filed under: Motorsports Castro-Neves leads Franchitti into turn 1, click for more The first IRL race at Belle Isle in Detroit is underway and twenty laps in pole sitter Helio Castro Neves still leads Andretti-Green's Dario Franchitti and Tony Kanaan...
|
-
|
Filed under: Motorsports , Honda Click the photo of polesitter Helio Castroneves for more warmup shots The IndyCars just finished up their final warmup for todays' race on Belle Isle. Helio Castroneves ended up on top of the session, with Scott Dixon...
|
|
|
|