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IndyCar
INDYCAR: Hunter-Reay Happy With Chevy Test At Sebring
“I couldn’t be happier to be back in the car, and in the chassis that Dan [Wheldon developed], the ‘DW12’ as it will be called," RHR tells SPEED.com.
Ryan Hunter-Reay was tasked with testing Chevy's new Dallara chassis and twin-turbo, direct-injected 2.2L engine package at Sebring. (LAT)
As the IZOD IndyCar Series community continues to look for direction in the wake of Dan Wheldon’s death, a select few have been fortunate to shift their focus towards the future.
Honda, with Dario Franchitti at the wheel, completed its latest test on Thursday, and with rival Chevrolet sharing the Sebring International Raceway short course, Andretti Autosport’s Ryan Hunter-Reay was also able to focus on something other than the events that took place at Las Vegas as he tested Chevy’s twin-turbo V6-powered 2012 Dallara chassis.
“You hit it on the head,” said the 30-year-old American who likened the test to an extended therapy session.
“I couldn’t be happier to be back in the car, and in the chassis that Dan [Wheldon developed], the ‘DW12’ as it will be called. It was definitely special to do the first laps at Sebring in the new Dallara-Chevy. Everything went very well. It’s still early days at this point, and we’re just going through checklists at this point of everything we have to do with the car and with the engine.”
Just as Wheldon told SPEED.com after his first proper road course test with the new Dallara, Hunter-Reay was also very pleased to find just how agile the 2012 chassis is proving to be.
“The new Dallara is very nimble and very responsive—light on its feet, you could say,” he said. “I think there’s a lot of potential there. The Chevy twin-turbo is a blast to drive, too. Great sounds, power, you name it. There’s still a lot to come from the entire package; we were just trying to log more miles instead of go for lap records, but you can feel the potential of the entire car.
"It was a good test; it was only the second time the engine did a serious track test, and from my end, the engineers seemed to be happy with what we accomplished.”
With three seasons and two wins to draw from during his time in Champ Car, Hunter-Reay says the DW12 feels like a purebred road racing car, but handles differently than the cars he drove before joining the IZOD IndyCar Series.
“You can definitely feel the new car is built for road courses and ovals, whereas the previous car was only built for ovals,” he clarified. “We have a lot of work to do to really dial it in, but the responsiveness--even at this early stage--from the chassis is what stands out the most. We almost didn’t touch the setup on this test, but from the feeling I got, you can’t really liken it to a Lola or Reynard Champ Car; it has its own feel. Very unique, but a lot of fun to drive.”
Honda, with Dario Franchitti at the wheel, completed its latest test on Thursday, and with rival Chevrolet sharing the Sebring International Raceway short course, Andretti Autosport’s Ryan Hunter-Reay was also able to focus on something other than the events that took place at Las Vegas as he tested Chevy’s twin-turbo V6-powered 2012 Dallara chassis.
“You hit it on the head,” said the 30-year-old American who likened the test to an extended therapy session.
“I couldn’t be happier to be back in the car, and in the chassis that Dan [Wheldon developed], the ‘DW12’ as it will be called. It was definitely special to do the first laps at Sebring in the new Dallara-Chevy. Everything went very well. It’s still early days at this point, and we’re just going through checklists at this point of everything we have to do with the car and with the engine.”
Just as Wheldon told SPEED.com after his first proper road course test with the new Dallara, Hunter-Reay was also very pleased to find just how agile the 2012 chassis is proving to be.
“The new Dallara is very nimble and very responsive—light on its feet, you could say,” he said. “I think there’s a lot of potential there. The Chevy twin-turbo is a blast to drive, too. Great sounds, power, you name it. There’s still a lot to come from the entire package; we were just trying to log more miles instead of go for lap records, but you can feel the potential of the entire car.
"It was a good test; it was only the second time the engine did a serious track test, and from my end, the engineers seemed to be happy with what we accomplished.”
With three seasons and two wins to draw from during his time in Champ Car, Hunter-Reay says the DW12 feels like a purebred road racing car, but handles differently than the cars he drove before joining the IZOD IndyCar Series.
“You can definitely feel the new car is built for road courses and ovals, whereas the previous car was only built for ovals,” he clarified. “We have a lot of work to do to really dial it in, but the responsiveness--even at this early stage--from the chassis is what stands out the most. We almost didn’t touch the setup on this test, but from the feeling I got, you can’t really liken it to a Lola or Reynard Champ Car; it has its own feel. Very unique, but a lot of fun to drive.”
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