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IndyCar
INDYCAR: Manufacturers Anticipate Release Of Aero Kit Regulations
INDYCAR is close to releasing its 2013 aero kit rules, and as Honda tells SPEED.com, development will begin immediately when they are received.
Chevrolet, Honda and Lotus are expected to alter the look of the base Dallara aero kit for 2013. (Photo: LAT)
Amidst the rush to make the season-opening race at St. Petersburg in just over a month, IndyCar’s three engine manufacturers are also planning for 2013’s season opener.
With rules almost completed for the introduction of aero kits next year, Honda Performance Development Assist Vice President Steve Eriksen gave SPEED.com an update on HPD’s plans to build its own bodywork.
“It’s very much an active area of interest,” he said. “We send e-mails to [INDYCAR VP of Technology] Will Phillips every couple of days inquiring when the aero kit rules will be released. Until we have them, it’s hard to do full investigations of what’s allowed within that framework.”
Once Phillips works through more pressing issues, Erikson expects the rules and activity surrounding aero kits to move to the front burner.
“Will [Phillips] says the rules are right around the corner, and to be fair, there’s been a bit of distraction for him on other fronts, particularly the whole engine supply issue, all the teams coming out of the woodwork and supplying them, and so on, so I think that’s moved the aero regs back in their order of importance,” he said. “I’m confident we’ll have the regulations soon and people will be ready with their aero kits.”
With the rules in hand, design studies will begin by Honda and its partners. According to Erikson, it shouldn’t take long to produce Honda’s first-generation aero kit and for it to begin testing in a virtual environment.
“I think it can be a pretty quick turnaround, to be honest,” he said of the timeline involved with creating an aero kit. “And then it’s down to how late we can push the start of production to get the absolute most out of testing and development. Every day you can spend doing additional CFD runs to try new things is another day for potential performance gains. It’s a battle between the production side and the development side, and in our experience, that usually means you end up with the parts delivered a little later than you wanted them. But you hope that the performance you got out of them with that delay was worth it.”
With rules almost completed for the introduction of aero kits next year, Honda Performance Development Assist Vice President Steve Eriksen gave SPEED.com an update on HPD’s plans to build its own bodywork.
“It’s very much an active area of interest,” he said. “We send e-mails to [INDYCAR VP of Technology] Will Phillips every couple of days inquiring when the aero kit rules will be released. Until we have them, it’s hard to do full investigations of what’s allowed within that framework.”
Once Phillips works through more pressing issues, Erikson expects the rules and activity surrounding aero kits to move to the front burner.
“Will [Phillips] says the rules are right around the corner, and to be fair, there’s been a bit of distraction for him on other fronts, particularly the whole engine supply issue, all the teams coming out of the woodwork and supplying them, and so on, so I think that’s moved the aero regs back in their order of importance,” he said. “I’m confident we’ll have the regulations soon and people will be ready with their aero kits.”
With the rules in hand, design studies will begin by Honda and its partners. According to Erikson, it shouldn’t take long to produce Honda’s first-generation aero kit and for it to begin testing in a virtual environment.
“I think it can be a pretty quick turnaround, to be honest,” he said of the timeline involved with creating an aero kit. “And then it’s down to how late we can push the start of production to get the absolute most out of testing and development. Every day you can spend doing additional CFD runs to try new things is another day for potential performance gains. It’s a battle between the production side and the development side, and in our experience, that usually means you end up with the parts delivered a little later than you wanted them. But you hope that the performance you got out of them with that delay was worth it.”
2013 INDY 500 Practice
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