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IndyCar
INDYCAR: Tech Bosses Provide Updates On Engines, Electronics, Aero Kits
INDYCAR's Will Phillips and Trevor Knowles talk engines, electronics and aero kits ahead of this weekend's race at Barber Motorsports Park.
Honda was one of two engine manufacturers to suffer a setback last weekend, but as a whole, all three engine suppliers recorded impressive levels of reliability. (Photo: Marshall Pruett)
The IZOD IndyCar Series kicked off its new chassis and engine formula last weekend with relatively few surprises, ushering in the new open-wheel era with greater-than-expected reliability.
With one engine issue in practice when Simon Pagenaud’s Honda-powered Schmidt Hamilton entry went off-song, and another in the race when an unspecified internal problem caused Simona de Silvestro’s Lotus-powered HVM car to lose oil and fuel pressure, the series avoided the kind of public blowups that could have tainted the season opener.
Behind the scenes, Trevor Knowles, INDYCAR’s director of engine development, came away with a positive take on how the 2.2-liter turbo engines performed and also offered notes on what he wanted to improve this weekend at Barber.
“To be honest, I wasn’t concerned about engine failures at St. Pete; it would be more of a concern at Long Beach where the engine mileage is getting up there,” he told SPEED.com. “There were a couple of concerns; we had some procedural issues, how we do things and how we can make things better in tech inspection from our side, but on the engine front, we had Simon [Pagenaud]’s engine failure, we had Simona [de Silvestro]--she had a problem with her engine, and apart from that, that was it.”
Pagenaud, or more accurately, Honda fell afoul of the INDYCAR rule book when an engine change was required in the Frenchman’s car during Friday’s second practice session. Citing Rule 15.6.1, which states “Any Unapproved Engine Change Out, except those caused by Engine failure in a Race, will result in a 10-place grid penalty,” Pagenaud was docked 10 grid spots by the series after qualifying.
Per the rules, de Silvestro, whose engine required changing for Barber due to what took place in the race, will not be assessed a penalty.
With all 26 cars using the spec McLaren i400 ECU--which features a pre-programmed, on-the-spot penalty if an engine surpasses the turbo boost limit--for the first time in competition, Knowles reported Chevrolet, Honda and Lotus did not temp fate by trying to cheat Big Brother at St. Pete.
“We didn’t see any of that,” Knowles confirmed. “There’s a vis-à-vis [over]boost penalty built into the software which the drivers don’t like and the manufacturers are doing their best to stay away from, apart from they did a test on Katherine Legge’s car where they reduced the limit so she could see what it felt like. That was deliberate, but apart from that, there were no issues.”
Knowles says the instant penalty doled out by the ECU is designed to negate whatever power advantage an overboost scenario would provide.
With one engine issue in practice when Simon Pagenaud’s Honda-powered Schmidt Hamilton entry went off-song, and another in the race when an unspecified internal problem caused Simona de Silvestro’s Lotus-powered HVM car to lose oil and fuel pressure, the series avoided the kind of public blowups that could have tainted the season opener.
Behind the scenes, Trevor Knowles, INDYCAR’s director of engine development, came away with a positive take on how the 2.2-liter turbo engines performed and also offered notes on what he wanted to improve this weekend at Barber.
“To be honest, I wasn’t concerned about engine failures at St. Pete; it would be more of a concern at Long Beach where the engine mileage is getting up there,” he told SPEED.com. “There were a couple of concerns; we had some procedural issues, how we do things and how we can make things better in tech inspection from our side, but on the engine front, we had Simon [Pagenaud]’s engine failure, we had Simona [de Silvestro]--she had a problem with her engine, and apart from that, that was it.”
Pagenaud, or more accurately, Honda fell afoul of the INDYCAR rule book when an engine change was required in the Frenchman’s car during Friday’s second practice session. Citing Rule 15.6.1, which states “Any Unapproved Engine Change Out, except those caused by Engine failure in a Race, will result in a 10-place grid penalty,” Pagenaud was docked 10 grid spots by the series after qualifying.
Per the rules, de Silvestro, whose engine required changing for Barber due to what took place in the race, will not be assessed a penalty.
With all 26 cars using the spec McLaren i400 ECU--which features a pre-programmed, on-the-spot penalty if an engine surpasses the turbo boost limit--for the first time in competition, Knowles reported Chevrolet, Honda and Lotus did not temp fate by trying to cheat Big Brother at St. Pete.
“We didn’t see any of that,” Knowles confirmed. “There’s a vis-à-vis [over]boost penalty built into the software which the drivers don’t like and the manufacturers are doing their best to stay away from, apart from they did a test on Katherine Legge’s car where they reduced the limit so she could see what it felt like. That was deliberate, but apart from that, there were no issues.”
Knowles says the instant penalty doled out by the ECU is designed to negate whatever power advantage an overboost scenario would provide.
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