IndyCar has made some precautionary changes to rules pertaining to aero kits as the series heads to Texas Motor Speedway for the second oval race of 2015. The changes were made following three similar crashes at the Indianapolis 500 which saw cars go airborne and flip, but even with the changes, Chevrolet says there’s “no magic fix that’s going to ever prevent it from happening.”
According to Autosport, the series will force both Chevrolet and Honda teams to use new closure guards on the rear wheels and set a rear wing angle of 6 to -10.5 for Texas, giving the cars more downforce than they had in Texas last year. These changes were made after Honda, Chevy and IndyCar chassis manufacturer Dallara began working together to isolate the factors which caused crashes like Helio Castroneves’.
Dallara, Chevy and Honda all believe the changes implemented for Texas will help curb any potential flips or rollovers, it isn’t a sure fire fix. Chevrolet IndyCar program manager Chris Berube told Autosport “crash dynamics are very transient and very difficult to model,” and noted there are a million possible factors in any given wreck.
The rules pertaining to the new aero kits specified they must provide equal or greater amounts of stability during a normal spin, but didn’t have guidelines mentioning stability when travelling backwards. IndyCar president Derrick Walker said he doesn’t think there has “ever been a car,” asked to deal with such a scenario.
“The rules never specified that you have to go backwards at 200mph with your gearbox three-and-a-half degrees, or 10 degrees, in the air, and [have the car] stay on the ground,” Walker said.
“I don’t think there’s been a car that has ever been asked to do that.”
The first race for the slightly revised aero kits, the Firestone 600 at Texas, will go green on June 6 at 8:00 p.m.
Comments
It is not all that difficult bases on other systems. They just do not want to make changes mid season.
The first thing to do is put a fence on the side pods to dirty up the air going over the sides like NASCAR did on the roof and rear window of the cars. This will protect front side flips.
as for the rear they need a panel that releases under pressure or if it sense the car spinning. This would releave the pressure under the car removing lift. Lets face it most times they have to come in the pits on a road course or on an oval they hit the wall if they are spun. It will not ruin their day.
I would like to know who did not ever considered putting the cars in the wind tunnel and not seeing what happens at different angles. There are only two kinds of race cars out there those who have spun and those who will spin. Best to know under controlled conditions what it will do.
I really do not understand some racing series as they too often do not consider the worst case till it is too late.
Just wait for the NHRA to get a car or major part of a car in the stands as they have no catch fence. Tires have all ready gone over the grand stand in Nashville and a woman was killed at Pomona a couple year ago at the end of the track.
NASCAR still has walls uncovered from the Safer barrier?
With the road racing experience Honda and Chevy both have with prototypes they knew this could happen. Wake up guys.
airplanes need wings race cars do not. get rid of the all aero and make the cars like the old indy race cars with OPEN WHEELS. how can it be called open wheel racing when the wheel are not open