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IndyCar
INDYCAR: Series, Teams Closing In On Spare Parts Cost Resolution
We’re still at least a day away from having a final answer, but it appears the red-hot topic of spare parts prices could finally start to cool.
The IndyCar Series will present its latest cost reduction plan, one that was hatched with a core group of team owners, to its full ownership base this weekend. (Photo: Marshall Pruett)
We’re still at least a day away from having a final answer, but it appears the red-hot topic of spare parts prices could finally start to cool.
The cost reduction initiative that started among the owners at Long Beach in April has been through many twists and turns, but after speaking with a number of the team owners closest to the ongoing discussions, the latest offer from the IndyCar Series has fostered a general feeling of optimism in the paddock.
The first wave of spare parts cost reduction has targeted Dallara, manufacturer of the spec DW12 chassis used by the entire field. While there are many points of contention between the owners, the series and the exclusive supply contract the series signed with Dallara has been the central focus for improvement, with the overall markup percentage for spare parts serving as the most incendiary topic.
Most team owners report the series stated a figure of 125 percent markup for spare parts over the sum total of a complete chassis (minus engine), but after multiple teams performed their own independent costing of each individual part for the DW12—nearly 1300 individual components—the group found the figure to be something closer to 165 percent.
The series’ first attempt to meet the owners’ call for a spare parts reduction involved a 20 percent cut across the board for chassis components, but it was rejected by the group, which had asked for 40 percent.
Now, and after more work by Brian Barnhart, INDYCAR’s President of Race Operations, who has been tasked with resolving the row in concert with Dallara, the topic could be headed towards a peaceful resolution.
“I think that is actually a pretty good summary of where we're at,” Barnhart told SPEED.com. “I do think that we've got a lot of opportunities here this weekend to come to a resolution on the Dallara portion of this. But in reality, as we've said all along, it's kind of still only a piece of the puzzle. We’ve got more work to do and we're doing what we can to try and reduce the cost of participation.”
Although Dallara has been the lightning rod for the owners’ frustrations, Barnhart explained that the contract with the Italian company is the first of many supply agreements and practices that will go under the microscope.
“The biggest portion on the parts side of it has come from, obviously, Dallara being the supplier of the entire car. So that's where our primary focus has been. I think we've got a really good opportunity to put that thing to bed this weekend but then, like I said, I want to work on the other one to continue to move forward from the other suppliers as well as what we can look at from the week’s standpoint to try and reduce the cost.
“We’re going to look at a way that we can reduce expenses and most likely looking at some reductions in some testing coming on for 2013,” he said. “And we're going to continue to look at other suppliers and manufacturers as well, including Xtrac and Cosworth and Brembo and Firestone and all those guys. We've got to see if we can get some relief from them as well.”
The cost reduction initiative that started among the owners at Long Beach in April has been through many twists and turns, but after speaking with a number of the team owners closest to the ongoing discussions, the latest offer from the IndyCar Series has fostered a general feeling of optimism in the paddock.
The first wave of spare parts cost reduction has targeted Dallara, manufacturer of the spec DW12 chassis used by the entire field. While there are many points of contention between the owners, the series and the exclusive supply contract the series signed with Dallara has been the central focus for improvement, with the overall markup percentage for spare parts serving as the most incendiary topic.
Most team owners report the series stated a figure of 125 percent markup for spare parts over the sum total of a complete chassis (minus engine), but after multiple teams performed their own independent costing of each individual part for the DW12—nearly 1300 individual components—the group found the figure to be something closer to 165 percent.
The series’ first attempt to meet the owners’ call for a spare parts reduction involved a 20 percent cut across the board for chassis components, but it was rejected by the group, which had asked for 40 percent.
Now, and after more work by Brian Barnhart, INDYCAR’s President of Race Operations, who has been tasked with resolving the row in concert with Dallara, the topic could be headed towards a peaceful resolution.
“I think that is actually a pretty good summary of where we're at,” Barnhart told SPEED.com. “I do think that we've got a lot of opportunities here this weekend to come to a resolution on the Dallara portion of this. But in reality, as we've said all along, it's kind of still only a piece of the puzzle. We’ve got more work to do and we're doing what we can to try and reduce the cost of participation.”
Although Dallara has been the lightning rod for the owners’ frustrations, Barnhart explained that the contract with the Italian company is the first of many supply agreements and practices that will go under the microscope.
“The biggest portion on the parts side of it has come from, obviously, Dallara being the supplier of the entire car. So that's where our primary focus has been. I think we've got a really good opportunity to put that thing to bed this weekend but then, like I said, I want to work on the other one to continue to move forward from the other suppliers as well as what we can look at from the week’s standpoint to try and reduce the cost.
“We’re going to look at a way that we can reduce expenses and most likely looking at some reductions in some testing coming on for 2013,” he said. “And we're going to continue to look at other suppliers and manufacturers as well, including Xtrac and Cosworth and Brembo and Firestone and all those guys. We've got to see if we can get some relief from them as well.”
2013 INDY 500 Practice
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