2024 NTT Indycar series - News, rumours and hijinx

[John]

Bottom post of the previous page:

I'm gonna need Ilott to show up with "1982 lol" written on his helmet.

[John]

Nascar coming to Iowa in June next year, just a month before Indycar does.

That's bad news if the most successful non-Indy oval gets crowded by Nascar.

[MonteCristo]

McLaren is after Palou bucks...

McLaren Racing is suing IndyCar champion Alex Palou for at least $23 million to recoup costs the team says it lost when the driver reneged on the contract he signed to join the team.

https://www.espn.com.au/racing/story/_/ ... alex-palou

And now...

Recent Andretti Autosport (now Andretti Global) driver Romain Grosjean is pursuing arbitration with his former employers after a contentious two-year relationship met its end in September.

https://racer.com/2023/10/04/grosjean-e ... -andretti/

Friendly paddock.

[Everso Biggyballies]

IndyCar hybrid testing continues at Indianapolis

Chevrolet and Honda both continued to complete more laps with the new hybrid system that IndyCar will introduce for the 2024 season.

Will Power and Alexander Rossi gave Chevrolet their mileage on Thursday while Honda had Colton Herta and Alex Palou behind the wheel. Thursday’s running was the first time that the new hybrid components got mileage on a superspeedway after testing at Sebring, Gateway, Barber Motorsports Park and the IMS road course.

While neither mileage nor speed data were released, drivers were unofficially timed from 215 through 219 mph.

There have been different permutations that IndyCar has put into place between automatic and manual regeneration and deployment and Power has felt the positives and negatives of each variant.

“I think they’re still playing with the rules, because you may have it where you have auto regen and deploy, but you also have the ability to pull the paddle,” Power said of how the hybrid component is activated.

“Instead of getting into the hard limiter in top gear, you use that as a regen tool. It’s still a lot of stuff to go through.

“I think if you’re having to pull that paddle, it would be an advantage because that is quite awkward on a road course to be grabbing that, hitting it every time out of a corner.

“I don’t think that will be the case. The last test we weren’t doing that. It was auto everything.

“I think they’re still kind of trying to understand how best to use it, which I think the best way to use it is to get the most out of it for lap time, which is using it as much as we can.”

Palou tested the hybrid component at Barber Motorsports Park and at Gateway before testing at IMS. The hybrid component gives the two-time IndyCar champion an additional way to get an advantage over his fellow competitors.

“It’s a completely different thing,” Palou said.

“It doesn’t look like that from the outside, but it’s actually a lot of [new] things that the driver needs to think and stuff. I never had to think about regen at IMS.

“It’s already a lot of work trying to be on track, weight jacker, bars. Now you need to regen and deploy.

“You still have the weight jacker and bars. It’s a lot of stuff that we’re adding, which hopefully it’s not too much.

“At the moment I feel good. Let’s see with traffic if it gets too much. But I think it’s super exciting even for the teams, drivers, that we get more stuff to play with. New things are always fun.”

David Malukas and Marcus Ericsson will get their chance with the new hybrid components in Friday’s testing alongside Power and Palou.
https://www.speedcafe.com/2023/10/13/in ... -speedway/

[Everso Biggyballies]

IndyCar hybrid testing continues at Indianapolis

Article on Indycar talks of the challenges and hybrid learning curve for the drivers.

DRIVERS GOING BACK TO SCHOOL TO LEARN NEW HYBRID SYSTEM

Six NTT INDYCAR SERIES drivers lapped Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s historic oval this week in development of the sport’s latest technology.

An innovative hybrid system will be used with the series’ engines for the first time in the 2024 season, and the Indianapolis-based series and its competitors, including engine manufacturers Honda and Chevrolet, are learning its capabilities. The time spent at IMS followed similar test days on road courses and a short oval, plus street course simulation, and more tests are planned.

The hybrid system features an energy storage mechanism and an electric motor located inside the car’s bell housing, where the transmission connects to the 2.2-liter, twin-turbocharged V-6 engine. Tied to the drivetrain of the vehicle, the process of harvesting and deploying energy can either be done automatically or manually depending on how the series structures the rules.

In next year’s Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge, it’s expected drivers will literally have the system in their hands via the paddles on their steering wheels. A pulled paddle will harvest the energy, a button will deploy it. How and when those actions occur on the track will depend on their desires.

Drivers like 2018 “500” winner Will Power of Team Penske expect to harvest energy while in the draft of another car, then dissipate the energy to generate additional horsepower to overtake that car.

“Maybe you’ll deploy and (realize) you’re not going to get them and switch it back to (regeneration) in their draft and wait for a better run,” Chevrolet driver Power said. “I think you’ll try to keep that tank full (all the) time. Instead of hitting the limiter or lifting, you’ll grab the paddle to (regenerate). It will be a constantly changing thing.

“It's now part of the game, another tool that you’ve got to be good at, and you’ve got to be smart with how you use it.”

Drivers have compared the additional surge to what they feel on road courses and street circuits when the current push-to-pass mechanism is deployed. The actual boost might not be evident to the naked eye, but its use could generate even more action. In the recently completed season, the NTT INDYCAR SERIES saw a record number of passes: 7,753 over 17 races.

Consider, too, that regenerating the system outside of a draft can momentarily slow a car – “Like you’re dragging a little bit of brake,” Andretti Global’s Colton Herta said – which also can create a passing opportunity.

“We’re still finding the most efficient way to use it and where to use it,” Honda driver Herta said. “Ideally in the race you would use it to create gaps going into the corner so you’re not entering right in front of somebody. It can change the balance of the race car, too, depending on how much (regeneration) there is. So, there’s a lot of ways it can change the race.”

INDYCAR President Jay Frye is eager to see the hybrid system in action when the season opens March 10 with the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg presented by RP Funding, a race held annually on a street circuit.

“Drivers will have a tool that they can use differently, and that will be something that will separate (them),” he said.

New Andretti Global driver Marcus Ericsson, who won the “500” in 2022 with Chip Ganassi Racing, likes the thought of having an extra ability to showcase his skill.

“I’m hoping it’s going to be a way where, as a driver, you can be smarter than your competitor and do it better than your competitor,” he said. “That, for me, excites me with a whole system that it seems is going to be quite manual, and that, I think, will be really cool.”

Also testing this week were recently crowned series champion Alex Palou of Chip Ganassi Racing and Arrow McLaren drivers Alexander Rossi and David Malukas. All six drivers combined to turn 1,325 laps (3,312.5 miles) during the two days.

Overseeing the action were officials from Honda and Chevrolet, whom Frye praised for working together in this “massive undertaking” through regular meetings.

“It’s great collaboration the way these two have worked together on this project,” Frye said. “(INDYCAR officials have) been working on this for some time. We got it to a certain point, and then we looked to our two current partners to finish the thing off and make it raceable. That’s what’s happening.”

Frye called the implementation of the hybrid system “quite a packaging marvel,” with a safe, low-voltage way of providing additional horsepower to cars at all NTT INDYCAR SERIES events.

Matt Niles, Honda’s hybrid project leader, said an aspect of development centers on making components survive in this high-speed environment where vibration is fierce.

“Also, the temperatures that we deal with, so we’ve been learning a lot about that,” Niles said. “But I think going forward, a lot of (the planning) is how we use the system and the parts and pieces. How that’s regulated on the track, how the drivers use it, how the engineers interface with it, how we go racing.”

Said Rob Buckner, Chevrolet’s INDYCAR program director: “It’s just a massive learning curve every time we go testing. It’s a new knob to turn. Race cars are really just giant energy balancing equations, and this is just another new factor in that. We found it can change car balance, and the drivers have enjoyed having a different experience in the car beyond what 2.2-liter package has been engine-wise.

“We’ll just keep learning and go from there.”

https://www.indycar.com/News/2023/10/10 ... fzv94f1WvU

[Everso Biggyballies]

JUNCOS HOLLINGER EXTENDS CANAPINO FOR 2024 DRIVE

[MonteCristo]

JUNCOS HOLLINGER EXTENDS CANAPINO FOR 2024 DRIVE

I was skeptical, but he's done very well.

[John]

Which means we've also extended with the cesspit that is his fans.

[John]

Pietro Fittipaldi confirmed for the RLL #30 car fulltime.

[MonteCristo]

Pietro Fittipaldi confirmed for the RLL #30 car fulltime.

[Everso Biggyballies]

Ilott splits with Juncos Hollinger Racing

Juncos Hollinger Racing announced Thursday that it has parted company with its 2022 and ’23 NTT IndyCar Series driver Callum Ilott, effective immediately.
JHR stressed that its commitment to continue in IndyCar is unchanged, The team recently announced that Agustin Canapino, Ilott’s 2023 teammate, would return for a second season.

“Juncos Hollinger Racing is committed to its ongoing pursuit of excellence in the NTT IndyCar Series and remains focused on its goals for the 2024 season,” JHR’s statement concluded. “The team will provide updates regarding its driver lineup for the upcoming season in due course.”

https://racer.com/2023/10/26/ilott-spli ... er-racing/

RoGro??

[MonteCristo]

Meanwhile, Indy *cough* Lights *cough* winner Rasmussen has a part-time ride with Carpenter. And Special Ed is taking on the ovals again (the horror... the horror...).

Reigning Indy NXT champion Christian Rasmussen has been chosen by Ed Carpenter Racing as its newest driver for the No. 20 Chevy, and in a twist, the team will revert to its former practice of ride sharing with the car.

Rather than place the 23-year-old from Denmark in the No. 20 as Rinus VeeKay’s full-time teammate, ECR will park the uncompetitive No. 33 Chevy driven by Carpenter on the ovals and pair the team owner with Rasmussen, with the newcomer handling road and street courses and his team owner stepping into handle the oval in the No. 20.

The only exception will take place in May when Rasmussen is placed in a third ECR entry to make his Indianapolis 500 debut.

https://racer.com/2023/10/25/indy-nxt-c ... -with-ecr/

[John]

JHR burned through their goodwill real quick.

I hope Illott finds a ride somewhere but it's looking bleak.

[Vassago]

Sure enough, Ilott was moved aside to make room for Grosjean

https://www.motorsport.com/indycar/news ... /10541515/

[Everso Biggyballies]

I guess by the late time that he started to look all the prime seats were long gone and JHR was the best of the dregs. Icant see him getting his first win next year. Presumably the IMSA dates dont clash with Indycar to much given his IMSA Lambo gig. Plus I think he is down for the LM24.

[MonteCristo]

Ouch.