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IndyCar
INDYCAR: Engine Supply Issues Almost Resolved
Chevrolet and Honda will step in to help INDYCAR to meet some of the extra demand for engines, but both marques tell SPEED.com there are limits.
Sarah Fisher, right, won 2011's last IndyCar race and has signed Tennessee's Josef Newgarden, left, the reigning Indy Lights champion, to drive. All they need now is an engine. (IndyCar Series)
With the opening to the IZOD IndyCar Series just over a month away, the one lingering concern that has caused many sleepless nights for some teams is close to being resolved.
Although the specifics have yet to be released, Chevrolet and Honda confirmed to SPEED.com that both have agreed to supply more than the 10 engine leases they are contractually obligated to provide.
The first sign came on Monday when Ed Carpenter Racing confirmed what had been expected for weeks—a supply of Chevrolet’s 2.2-liter twin-turbo V6 engines. Now that ECR has been taken care of, the focus shifts to Conquest Racing and Sarah Fisher Racing, the two teams remaining from 2011 without a primary engine lease.
And with some teams still looking to add additional cars to their current supply contracts, satisfying all of the requests—and in a timely manner—could be a challenge for Chevrolet and Honda.
With 10 leases already in place for Chevrolet (three each for Andretti Autosport, KV Racing and Team Penske, and one for Panther Racing), ECR’s contract pushed the American brand to 11 leases, and it’s possible one of its multi-car teams could expand to four entries, bumping the Bowtie to 12.
At Honda, 10 is the current number of engine lease commitments (four for Ganassi Racing, two for Rahal Letterman Lanigan, two for Dale Coyne Racing and one each for A.J. Foyt Racing and Sam Schmidt Motorsports), but the finally tally is still somewhat fluid.
As Sam Schmidt and Davey Hamilton work together to hopefully field a second entry, and Rahal gets closer to a third car for most (or all) of the season, Honda could hit its preferred ceiling of 12 leases.
How Chevrolet or Honda handles the addition of Conquest or Fisher is currently being evaluated.
“We’ve had to get a bit creative,” Honda Performance Technical Director Roger Griffiths told SPEED.com. “INDYCAR’s had to accept they may not get their perfect world, but it’s come down to that it’s so late in the day, and we and GM are just up against the wall. When [Ilmor’s] Paul Ray was talking about lead time for components, that’s what we’re up against. We all planned to do a certain number of cars, and when [INDYCAR] comes and asks you to do what you’ve planned for plus X, you’re not covered for that X. And you don’t necessarily have the budget approval for that X.
“So I think we’ve found a solution that will generally make people happy, and will certainly make team owners happier for those who don’t have leases. It will make it harder on us and GM—a bit thin for the first race—at least. Even if we press the button on more engine kits today, we won’t see them for a while. It’s going to be tough, but we’re doing all we can to support the series.”
The supply crisis originated when Lotus, the third engine manufacturer, informed INDYCAR that it would not be able to assume its full 40 percent share of the field—10 engine leases, causing the series to lean on the other two engine suppliers to fill the void.
“I would say that we understand that there are teams out there that are having difficulty in getting engines because one of the manufacturers isn’t meeting their requirement,” GM Racing Director Mark Kent stated with the British marque in mind.
“And it’s important for us to make sure those teams that have chosen to support the IndyCar Series are taken care of as well. Like Honda, we’re looking at what we can do to help the series but don’t have an excess of engines waiting to go to all those who ask. General Motors is willing to take more than our fair share to make sure teams have engines so they can run in 2012, but the question is how soon we’ll have additional engines to offer.”
The number of Lotus contracts seems to be solid entering the homestretch of the off-season, with partner teams Bryan Herta Autosport (one), Dreyer & Reinbold Racing (one) and HVM Racing (one) all confirmed to have engines by the end of the week.
Lotus’ supply picture is somewhat unclear for its fourth partner, Dragon Racing, but it is expected to have engines for both of its entries not long after the other partners receive their powerplants.
Michael Shank Racing, the only customer team on Lotus’ current roster, brings the lease count to six, but the timing and expected delivery date for MSR’s engines is unknown.
Although the specifics have yet to be released, Chevrolet and Honda confirmed to SPEED.com that both have agreed to supply more than the 10 engine leases they are contractually obligated to provide.
The first sign came on Monday when Ed Carpenter Racing confirmed what had been expected for weeks—a supply of Chevrolet’s 2.2-liter twin-turbo V6 engines. Now that ECR has been taken care of, the focus shifts to Conquest Racing and Sarah Fisher Racing, the two teams remaining from 2011 without a primary engine lease.
And with some teams still looking to add additional cars to their current supply contracts, satisfying all of the requests—and in a timely manner—could be a challenge for Chevrolet and Honda.
With 10 leases already in place for Chevrolet (three each for Andretti Autosport, KV Racing and Team Penske, and one for Panther Racing), ECR’s contract pushed the American brand to 11 leases, and it’s possible one of its multi-car teams could expand to four entries, bumping the Bowtie to 12.
At Honda, 10 is the current number of engine lease commitments (four for Ganassi Racing, two for Rahal Letterman Lanigan, two for Dale Coyne Racing and one each for A.J. Foyt Racing and Sam Schmidt Motorsports), but the finally tally is still somewhat fluid.
As Sam Schmidt and Davey Hamilton work together to hopefully field a second entry, and Rahal gets closer to a third car for most (or all) of the season, Honda could hit its preferred ceiling of 12 leases.
How Chevrolet or Honda handles the addition of Conquest or Fisher is currently being evaluated.
“We’ve had to get a bit creative,” Honda Performance Technical Director Roger Griffiths told SPEED.com. “INDYCAR’s had to accept they may not get their perfect world, but it’s come down to that it’s so late in the day, and we and GM are just up against the wall. When [Ilmor’s] Paul Ray was talking about lead time for components, that’s what we’re up against. We all planned to do a certain number of cars, and when [INDYCAR] comes and asks you to do what you’ve planned for plus X, you’re not covered for that X. And you don’t necessarily have the budget approval for that X.
“So I think we’ve found a solution that will generally make people happy, and will certainly make team owners happier for those who don’t have leases. It will make it harder on us and GM—a bit thin for the first race—at least. Even if we press the button on more engine kits today, we won’t see them for a while. It’s going to be tough, but we’re doing all we can to support the series.”
The supply crisis originated when Lotus, the third engine manufacturer, informed INDYCAR that it would not be able to assume its full 40 percent share of the field—10 engine leases, causing the series to lean on the other two engine suppliers to fill the void.
“I would say that we understand that there are teams out there that are having difficulty in getting engines because one of the manufacturers isn’t meeting their requirement,” GM Racing Director Mark Kent stated with the British marque in mind.
“And it’s important for us to make sure those teams that have chosen to support the IndyCar Series are taken care of as well. Like Honda, we’re looking at what we can do to help the series but don’t have an excess of engines waiting to go to all those who ask. General Motors is willing to take more than our fair share to make sure teams have engines so they can run in 2012, but the question is how soon we’ll have additional engines to offer.”
The number of Lotus contracts seems to be solid entering the homestretch of the off-season, with partner teams Bryan Herta Autosport (one), Dreyer & Reinbold Racing (one) and HVM Racing (one) all confirmed to have engines by the end of the week.
Lotus’ supply picture is somewhat unclear for its fourth partner, Dragon Racing, but it is expected to have engines for both of its entries not long after the other partners receive their powerplants.
Michael Shank Racing, the only customer team on Lotus’ current roster, brings the lease count to six, but the timing and expected delivery date for MSR’s engines is unknown.
INDYCAR BRAZIL
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