New IndyCar

amacachi

http://www.livestream.com/indycar

Vote taking place right now.

amacachi

Dallara won - http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/85269

$385k for a car, if I owned a house I'd be selling it. :pac:

Ghost Train

amacachi wrote: »

Dallara won - http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/85269

$385k for a car, if I owned a house I'd be selling it. :pac:

I presume that's without engine etc

Might add a bit more cost

New engines 2.4ltr v6

amacachi

Ghost Train wrote: »

I presume that's without engine etc

Might add a bit more cost

New engines 2.4ltr v6

I can get my hands on an old Cosworth from an Escort no bother, she'd fly. :pac:

Ghost Train

amacachi wrote: »

I can get my hands on an old Cosworth from an Escort no bother, she'd fly. :pac:

true

TheChrisD

It's a very interesting concept, and I hope that it means there will be a bit more competition instead of just Ganassi and Penske constantly winning with the odd AGR win, and those times the Champ Car veterans shine through.

smooch71

Goodbye IndyCar.

It was fun while it lasted

TheChrisD

smooch71 wrote: »

Goodbye IndyCar.

It was fun while it lasted

Why do you say that? Series bring in new chassis/engines all the time...

smooch71

TheChrisD wrote: »

Why do you say that? Series bring in new chassis/engines all the time...

Its not that.

The IRL had a golden opportunity to reignite the interest of the lost fans, and gain new fans, by creating a series with multiple chassis and engine suppliers like in the days of old.

Look at Indycar in the mid 90s when it was at its peak, you had Honda, Ford, Mercedes and then Toyota supplying the engines, Firestone and Goodyear providing the tyres, and Swift, Lola, Reynard, Penske and Eagle chassis. The interest in the sport was huge and even Bernie was keeping an eye from his ivory tower. In fact he felt so threatned by the CART "IndyCar World Series" that he came up with a rule that the only way Indycars could race in Europe was on an oval. Of course there were no ovals in Europe at the time. And by the time Champcar / CART came to Brands Hatch the series was a shadow of its former self and Bernie didn't care.

Anyway, back on track (geddit?)

When the split happened and the IRL started to gain the upperhand, the Indycar Series evolved into a one make spec series with the ugliest looking racing cars on the planet. Made by Dallara.

Now the IRL has decided in favour of allowing Dallara (who are much maligned by the fans) to continue to be the sole provider of chassis to the series.

When you look at the car designs that Lola and Swift put forward, there was a real chance to make the cars look the Indycars should look, and did look even up the end of Champcar.

The worst looking design put forward (apart from the Deltawing) was that of Dallara. Which to me looks like an evolution of the ridiculous looking car the teams are currently running.

And I don't buy this idea that the other manufacturers will add their own body work, wings, engine covers etc. What will fit the Dallara chassis the best will be the Dallara parts and before we know it we'll be back to square 1. Ugly cars and races dominated by Penske and Ganassi.
And the fans won't understand how the chassis can be made by one constructor, and the parts made by another. Confusion drives people away.


I genuinely hope I'm wrong but as a huge fan of the Indycar World Series I was excited at the prospects of American open wheel racing starting the journey back to where it deserves to be. NASCAR? give me a break.

Unfortunately, the ICONIC board (selected by IRL chief Randy Bernard, who had never even watched an Indycar race before getting the job) decided to play it safe so for me, Wednesdays announcement was the anticlimax of the year.


So that's my tuppence worth. If two years from now we're seeing very different looking cars and a selection of teams winning races I'll hold my hand up and say I was mistaken.

If I'm not watching anymore, it'll mean I was right.

amacachi

To be honest I have a bigger worry about the new car which may be unfounded, in that the cars are going to be lighter and have more power. On paper that's a good thing, but if they were much (5-10mph) faster at Texas for example they'll be too fast and won't be able to race (see here) so the cars will have to have much more drag inherent to the design, which is almost bound to have and effect on close racing.

TheChrisD

That's why they are using turbocharged engines, so that they can vary the power that the turbo allows depending on the racetrack, and thus avoiding another incident of that nature.

If the IRL had to cancel a race at Texas the series would lose a huge amount of fans.

amacachi

What do yous think of the cars in this video? Seemed to promote decent racing and I quite like the look of them. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=soYF-9SJ1h0&feature=related

smooch71

TheChrisD wrote: »

That's why they are using turbocharged engines, so that they can vary the power that the turbo allows depending on the racetrack, and thus avoiding another incident of that nature.

If the IRL had to cancel a race at Texas the series would lose a huge amount of fans.

It was because of the turbocharged engines and lower downforce cars that the race had to be cancelled.

You won't see cars going that fast around Texas again.

gs39t

smooch71 wrote: »

Goodbye IndyCar.

It was fun while it lasted

CART was fun (awesome) while it lasted. IndyCar is just about tolerable. I only watch it because CART isnt around anymore.

And i guess ignoring the fans and bringing this monstrosity onto the racetrack, IndyCar wont be around much longer either

smooch71

gs39t wrote: »

CART was fun (awesome) while it lasted. IndyCar is just about tolerable. I only watch it because CART isnt around anymore.

And i guess ignoring the fans and bringing this monstrosity onto the racetrack, IndyCar wont be around much longer either

Yep

When I said "Indycar World Series" it was CART I was talking about.

smooch71

amacachi wrote: »

What do yous think of the cars in this video? Seemed to promote decent racing and I quite like the look of them. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=soYF-9SJ1h0&feature=related

Sigh.......

The good old days..

That's what an IndyCar should look like.

Not the flat pointy nose ****boxes we have now.

smooch71

After reading this interesting article I've decided to backtrack and not give up hope entirely. Lets hope the people at Dallara read it and are as aware of what the fans want to see in the 2012 car.

http://auto-racing.speedtv.com/article/indycar-marshall-pruett-tony-cotman-2012-qa/