Until 2018, the 2.2-liter turbo V6 regulations were introduced in 2012, IndyCar has turned 130kPa [1.3-bar] boost superspeedways on raceday, 140kPa on short ovals and Indy 500 qualifiers, and 150kPa on road and street courses. Last year, the short oval impulse was increased to 150kPa, so instead of qualifying Indy 500 as the outlier at 140kPa, IndyCar has simplified engine hijacking requirements by increasing Indy’s Fast Friday and qualifying boost to 150kPa.
This coincided with the introduction of the aeroscreen in 2020 – but Dixon is of the opinion that the drag caused by the screen is too stressed, and that therefore round times can come down.
“Even though we see the wear numbers are higher, our speed of court this year is the same or not better than last year, even in road trimming,” said Ganassi’s 2008 Indy winner and three-time 500 policeman Motorsport .com. ‘Sure, some of the engine numbers – horsepower and torque – will go up a bit this year, but not that much, as we get close to the end of the cycle for this engine spectrum. The manufacturers have just about everything they can from the 2.2.
Dixon in practice at Texas Motor Speedway.
Photo by: IndyCar
“When we did the Speedway test with the aeroscreen last year, we expected the speeds to be a bit slower than they actually were, so I think the screen may be some of the drag on the back of the car block, so the total drag figure is not as much as we expected. Pole for Indy last year was equal to 230, right? [Pagenaud’s four-lap average was 229.992] Well, I think we should definitely hit that, and I think even our pole run of 2017 with the manufacturer aerokits, which was 232mph – the fastest since Arie [Luyendyk]the record in ’96 – will be gone.
“You add 40-50 hp by going up from 1.4 to 1.5-bar, so it’s going to be a big shift.”
Dixon said this, along with the revised weight distribution, will place greater demands on engineers and drivers in qualifying, which is unique to Indy averaging a four-lap run.
‘I think there was only one year, 2015, where we had to downforce raceday after some of the boys had major accidents, when it was pretty easy to manage the tires over the four laps. I imagine it will be quite tricky now as the speed of the straight line will go up and we have got the added weight of the screen.
‘But that’s good. Indy qualification should always be tough, man, if you’re fighting for the front row or for the back row. It must be difficult. ”
Bretzman agreed with Dixon’s predisposition.
“I think your speeds will look as fast as last year, if not even faster,” he told Motorsport.com, “although it depends on what kind of weather conditions we get. But it will make it difficult to set the car. I think qualifying will be a lot harder than it has been the last four or five years because of the likely increase in gap temperature to go along with the increased impulse to go along with the higher band energy due to the weight transfer …
‘Yes, it will be one of the more difficult qualifying sessions we have there. Is the fix as simple as just putting more downforce in the car? Possible, but try to manage where the downforce is on the car for qualifying and if you can get the most consistent four laps out – that will be a pretty big deal. We will be able to place a really big round on Lap 1, but how we manage the four rounds will be really difficult.
“The drivers will really have to control their tools over the four laps, especially if the temperature of the track goes up. It will be difficult with the forward weight distribution to call the underdog. ”
In addition, Bretzman expects time constraints to put a premium on rapid analysis of the car’s handling characteristics. Unlike in previous years, there will be just two days of practice – Wednesday and Thursday – at boost of raceday, for Fast Friday.
He said: ‘With a relatively short track time compared to previous years at Indy, it will be a battle to see how fast you can get to a relatively happy race balance. Teams will have to adapt to the new package, drivers will have to adapt to their new reality, and so the track will be very busy. The good aspect of it is that we will at least practice a lot in traffic.
“But then on Friday we have to start concentrating on the best setup for a qualifying match with four rounds, and it is very difficult to find a stretch with four rounds where you have a clear track and can do an accurate qualification simulation. On Fast Fridays, we can sit the driver in the cockpit for half an hour, try to keep him cool, just wait and wait, before we finally find a hole where he can get a clear run. ‘
Ben Bretzman, in May 2019, saw his husband Pagenaud win the GP Indy, Indy 500 pole and Indy 500 victory in the # 22 Team Penske-Chevrolet.
Photo by: Scott R LePage / Motorsport Images
