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IndyCar
INDYCAR: Open-Wheel Notebook
Bruce Ashmore, Alan Mertens and Tim Wardrop unveil a new 2012 IndyCar, Pelican Joe recovers, and the Rookie Challenge is almost under way.
With a little bit of work done to his 'oil pump,' Pelican Joe will run better than ever. (Steve Gregory)
Three veterans with impressive resumes in open wheel racing have joined the scrum to design and build the next Indy car.
Bruce Ashmore, Alan Mertens and Tim Wardrop will unveil their car and plans Friday to join Dallara, Lola, Swift and the Delta Wing in the bid for the new chassis of 2012.
“We’ve all had success at Indianapolis, we all lived through the whole development program of the Indy car and we believe we’ve got the technical and business savvy to come up with the best car,” said Ashmore, whose company is known as BAT.
“We’re going to have a go and, hopefully, they (IndyCar) will listen.”
Ashmore, the chief designer at Lola for four consecutive CART championships (1990-93) as well as the ’90 Indy 500, then moved on to Reynard, where his cars captured back-to-back Indy 500s in 1995 and 1996 and dominated CART with seven straight titles from 1996-2001.
Mertens, chief designer at March during a run of five Indy 500 triumphs in a row (1983-87), left to start his own company (Galmer Engineering) and scored another win at Indy in 1992.
Wardrop helped develop the first two generations of the G-Force that won Indy in 1997 and 1999 in addition to engineering the winning car of Arie Luyendyk in ’97.
Asked what would set their car aside from the rest, Ashmore replied: “The current cars were built to be fast cars but we think we need a car that puts on a show. Today’s cars aren’t very strong and the drivers can’t show of their physical abilities.
“We want a car where the driver can attack, defend his position and not get knocked out with a little bump.”
BAT met with Dr. Terry Trammell and IndyCar senior tech chief Les McTaggert to come up with what they proclaim as the safest car ever.
“Look at how the driver sits in the car today,” continued Ashmore. “Their arms are pinned against their chest and they can’t see anything so we want to sit them more upright and give them a chance to move their arms and turn their heads.
“The spinoff of that is it will make the cars much safer and by moving the driver up a few degrees it should eliminate those injuries suffered by Vitor Meira and Will Power (broken backs).
“And the cars need to be stronger so they can clip a curb or touch each other and put on a show.”
Ashmore thinks the Delta Wing is an interesting concept but needs at least five years of development in another series while he “wasn’t very impressed” with the other three designs that have been submitted.
He said his partners have no problem with open competition or picking a spec car but they all believe there needs to be multiple engine manufacturers.
“The sport has changed but the cars haven’t,” he said. “We think we’ve got the answer. It’s not radical but it’s practical.”
PELICAN JOE MENDING, RIP HAL MINYARD
Two-time USAC national champion Joe Leonard is recovering from a heart attack and quadruple by-pass surgery in a San Jose Hospital. “Pelican Joe is doing better each day, eating well, taking a few steps and they should move him out of ICU tonight,” said Steve Gregory, one of Leonard’s best friends.
The 77-year-old motorcycle and Indy-car legend suffered a heart attack on Feb. 25 and had his operation on Tuesday.
Leonard’s old rival and buddy A.J. Foyt called him on Thursday to wish him well. “That really made Joe’s day, he’s been telling A.J. stories ever since he woke up,” said Gregory.
And while Pelican Joe is on the mend, one of the truly nice guys in racing has passed away.
Hal Minyard, a west coast sprint car champion in the ‘60s who helped develop the first decent crash helmet known as McHal, died early Thursday of heart failure. He was 85.
The personable native of Crestline, California came to back to the Midwest to run USAC after scoring his CRA title. He had moderate success but jumped into the safety world and his helmet became the popular model because it finally offered the driver some real protection.
Although he never got to run at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Minyard worked on the maintenance crew for years. Every night as the cars rolled back into Gasoline Alley, Hal came along wheeling the sweeper and always had a smile on his face.
ROOKIE CHALLENGE
If you’re a teenaged racer with confidence and $7,500, you might be interested in a competition this month that rewards seats in Indy Lights and Formula Ford 2000.
The first ever Rookie Challenge at Palm Beach International Raceway will be held March 16-18 on the 11-turn, 2-mile road course in Formula BMW single seaters.
Drivers aged 15-18 can compete for the Formula Ford ride, while youngsters 18 and older go for a full-time seat in the 2010 Lights’ season (pending IndyCar’s approval). Besides their times and skill level, drivers will also be graded on chassis feedback, physical fitness and media savvy.
So far entries from Canada, Ireland, New Zealand and the USA have been received and drivers interested can call Kane Williams at 561-797-3999 or check out the web site at www.palmbeachindyracing.com.
Bruce Ashmore, Alan Mertens and Tim Wardrop will unveil their car and plans Friday to join Dallara, Lola, Swift and the Delta Wing in the bid for the new chassis of 2012.
“We’ve all had success at Indianapolis, we all lived through the whole development program of the Indy car and we believe we’ve got the technical and business savvy to come up with the best car,” said Ashmore, whose company is known as BAT.
“We’re going to have a go and, hopefully, they (IndyCar) will listen.”
Ashmore, the chief designer at Lola for four consecutive CART championships (1990-93) as well as the ’90 Indy 500, then moved on to Reynard, where his cars captured back-to-back Indy 500s in 1995 and 1996 and dominated CART with seven straight titles from 1996-2001.
Mertens, chief designer at March during a run of five Indy 500 triumphs in a row (1983-87), left to start his own company (Galmer Engineering) and scored another win at Indy in 1992.
Wardrop helped develop the first two generations of the G-Force that won Indy in 1997 and 1999 in addition to engineering the winning car of Arie Luyendyk in ’97.
Asked what would set their car aside from the rest, Ashmore replied: “The current cars were built to be fast cars but we think we need a car that puts on a show. Today’s cars aren’t very strong and the drivers can’t show of their physical abilities.
“We want a car where the driver can attack, defend his position and not get knocked out with a little bump.”
BAT met with Dr. Terry Trammell and IndyCar senior tech chief Les McTaggert to come up with what they proclaim as the safest car ever.
“Look at how the driver sits in the car today,” continued Ashmore. “Their arms are pinned against their chest and they can’t see anything so we want to sit them more upright and give them a chance to move their arms and turn their heads.
“The spinoff of that is it will make the cars much safer and by moving the driver up a few degrees it should eliminate those injuries suffered by Vitor Meira and Will Power (broken backs).
“And the cars need to be stronger so they can clip a curb or touch each other and put on a show.”
Ashmore thinks the Delta Wing is an interesting concept but needs at least five years of development in another series while he “wasn’t very impressed” with the other three designs that have been submitted.
He said his partners have no problem with open competition or picking a spec car but they all believe there needs to be multiple engine manufacturers.
“The sport has changed but the cars haven’t,” he said. “We think we’ve got the answer. It’s not radical but it’s practical.”
PELICAN JOE MENDING, RIP HAL MINYARD
Two-time USAC national champion Joe Leonard is recovering from a heart attack and quadruple by-pass surgery in a San Jose Hospital. “Pelican Joe is doing better each day, eating well, taking a few steps and they should move him out of ICU tonight,” said Steve Gregory, one of Leonard’s best friends.
The 77-year-old motorcycle and Indy-car legend suffered a heart attack on Feb. 25 and had his operation on Tuesday.
Leonard’s old rival and buddy A.J. Foyt called him on Thursday to wish him well. “That really made Joe’s day, he’s been telling A.J. stories ever since he woke up,” said Gregory.
And while Pelican Joe is on the mend, one of the truly nice guys in racing has passed away.
Hal Minyard, a west coast sprint car champion in the ‘60s who helped develop the first decent crash helmet known as McHal, died early Thursday of heart failure. He was 85.
The personable native of Crestline, California came to back to the Midwest to run USAC after scoring his CRA title. He had moderate success but jumped into the safety world and his helmet became the popular model because it finally offered the driver some real protection.
Although he never got to run at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Minyard worked on the maintenance crew for years. Every night as the cars rolled back into Gasoline Alley, Hal came along wheeling the sweeper and always had a smile on his face.
ROOKIE CHALLENGE
If you’re a teenaged racer with confidence and $7,500, you might be interested in a competition this month that rewards seats in Indy Lights and Formula Ford 2000.
The first ever Rookie Challenge at Palm Beach International Raceway will be held March 16-18 on the 11-turn, 2-mile road course in Formula BMW single seaters.
Drivers aged 15-18 can compete for the Formula Ford ride, while youngsters 18 and older go for a full-time seat in the 2010 Lights’ season (pending IndyCar’s approval). Besides their times and skill level, drivers will also be graded on chassis feedback, physical fitness and media savvy.
So far entries from Canada, Ireland, New Zealand and the USA have been received and drivers interested can call Kane Williams at 561-797-3999 or check out the web site at www.palmbeachindyracing.com.
INDYCAR BRAZIL
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