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2012 IndyCar Series

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2012 IndyCar season
File:Izodindycar.png
Season
RacesTBA
Start dateTBA
End dateTBA
Awards
← 2011
2013 →

The 2012 Izod IndyCar Series[1] season will be the 101st season of American open wheel racing. Its premier event will be the 96th Indianapolis 500, scheduled for Sunday, May 27.

The ICONIC Project

The 2012 season will see the implementation of Indycar's new ICONIC Plan (Innovative, Competitive, Open-Wheel, New, Industry-Relevant, Cost-Effective), the biggest change to the sport in recent history. The existing car used through 2010, a 2003-model Dallara IR-05, and naturally-aspirated V-8 engines (required since 1997) will be retired permanently.

The ICONIC committee was composed of experts and executives from racing and technical fields: Randy Bernard, General William R. Looney III, Brian Barnhart, Gil de Ferran, Tony Purnell, Eddie Gossage, Neil Ressler, Tony Cotman and Rick Long.[2]

IndyCar accepted proposals from BAT Engineering, Dallara, DeltaWing Racing Cars, Lola and Swift for chassis design.[3] On July 14, 2010, the final decision was made public, with organisers accepting the Dallara proposal.[3] At the 2011 24 Hours of Le Mans, DeltaWing announced that their ICONIC concept would instead be entered in the 2012 24 Hours of Le Mans.[4]

New chassis

Under the new ICONIC regulations, all teams will compete with a core rolling chassis, called the "IndyCar Safety Cell",[3] developed by Italian designer Dallara. Teams will then outfit the chassis with separate body work, referred to as "Aero Kits", which consist of front and rear wings, sidepods, engine cowlings.[3] Development of Aero Kits is open to any manufacturer, with all packages to be made available to all teams for a maximum price. ICONIC committee member Tony Purnell gave an open invitation to car manufacturers and companies such as Lockheed Martin and General Electric to develop kits.[5]

The IndyCar Safety cell will be capped at a price of $349,000[6] and will be assembled at a new Dallara facility in Speedway, Indiana. Aero Kits will be capped at $70,000.[6] Teams have the option of buying a complete Dallara safety cell/aero kit for a discounted price.[6]

On May 12, 2011, Dallara unveiled the first concept cars, one apiece in oval and road course aero kit configuration.[7]

On April 30, 2011, IndyCar owners voted 15-0 to reject the introduction of multiple Aero Kits for the 2012 season, citing costs.[8] Owners expressed their desire to introduce the new chassis/engines for 2012, but have all participants use the Dallara Aero Kits in 2012, and delay the introduction of multiple aero kits until 2013. The vote, however, was non-binding, and the sanctioning body will make an official decision after the 2011 Indy 500.[9]

Engine formula

The engines will be 2.2 L V-6 turbocharged engines, tuned to produce a range of 550-750 horsepower.[10][11] All engines will run E85 fuel. From 2007-2011, the series utilized 100% fuel grade ethanol.[12] The "push to pass" feature in 2012 will allow a limited horsepower gain up to 100 HP as opposed to the current "overtake assist" which only provides 20 HP.

Suppliers

The initial list of potential suppliers included Ford, Cosworth, and Mazda.[13] Honda became the first supplier to commit to providing engines for 2012 and beyond. Their proposed 2.2-liter turbo V6 will be developed by Honda Performance Development.[14] On August 19, 2010, Cosworth announced their interest in providing an inline-four engine.[15] On November 12, 2010, Chevrolet was confirmed as an engine supplier for 2012 with a twin turbo V6. The powerplant will be built in a joint effort with Ilmor, and will be introduced in a partnership with Penske Racing.[16] Chevrolet will also provide an Aero Kit.[17]

The third engine supplier was announced November 18, 2010 at the LA Auto Show, just prior to the league deadline. Lotus will build an engine and an Aero Kit.[12] The engine will be built in a partnership with longtime engine builder John Judd and Jack Brabham through their company Engine Developments LTD. Judd engines were used in the CART series and at the Indy 500 from 1987-1992, as well as in sports car racing and Formula One. KV Racing's co-owner Kevin Kalkhoven's company, Cosworth, was supposed to be involved with building the Lotus Indycar engines but they pulled out and are looking to partner with a European manufacturer, possibly Fiat (Alfa Romeo).[citation needed] On May 27, 2011, Target Chip Ganassi Racing and Honda announced their partnership for 2012.[18]

Confirmed aero kit suppliers

Confirmed engine suppliers

Schedule development

Existing race contracts

New races

  • Quebec politician and Minister of Employment Sam Hamad has proposed a street race in Quebec City.[28] The proposal has gained the backing of Quebec City mayor Régis Labeaume and IndyCar driver Alex Tagliani. IndyCar representatives among them Tony Cotman, were in Quebec City in May 2010 to evaluate the possibility of holding an event in the city in 2011. Promoter and owner of FAZZT Race Team Andre Azzi is optimistic and believes that the IRL brass is keen about having a urban race held in the old city with a similar style to the Monaco Grand Prix.[29] The circuit would be established on the lower part of Quebec, in the Old Port and Bassin Louise. IRL CEO Randy Bernard said that the event is a possibility for the 2012 schedule.[30]
  • A revival of the Cleveland race was discussed for years.[31] It would have involved a unique twin race weekend, with one race Friday night on a new oval layout, and a second race on the traditional road course layout.[32][33] Due to lack of local business support as of August 2010, the target date is 2012.[34][35]
  • A second revival of Detroit was discussed for 2011, but is more likely in 2012.[36]
  • Officials at promoter Mi-Jack Promotions are confident that the Grand Prix of Houston will be part of the 2012 schedule.[37]
  • The Octane Racing Group, promoters of the Canadian Grand Prix, NAPA Auto Parts 200, and Honda Indy Edmonton, would like to add an additional street race in Calgary for 2012.[citation needed]
  • Randy Bernard said that talks are underway with Michigan, Laguna Seca, and Road America.[citation needed]
  • The league is exploring a race in Qingdao, China. The inaugural event would be a street race, and later editions would move to a proposed 400,000 to 500,000-seat oval/road course facility for 2012.[38][39][40][41]
  • Terry Angstadt traveled to Porto Alegre, Brazil on November 25, 2010 and discussed with local authorities about a second Brazilian event in the capital of Rio Grande do Sul, the southernmost Brazilian State. The race could be called "GP Mercosul", after the Common Market of South America.[42] The race reportedly would take place on March 12, 2012 as the season opener.
  • During the debut episode of IndyCar Open Wheel Weekly, IndyCar CEO Randy Bernard mentioned that the series is currently talking to ISC about bringing back some of their venues to the 2012 schedule, such as Phoenix International Raceway, Chicagoland Speedway, and Michigan International Speedway.[citation needed]

Discontinued races

2012 IndyCar series schedule

Rnd Date Race name Track Location Time (ET) TV
- April 15 United States Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach Streets of Long Beach Long Beach, California TBA TBA
- May 27 United States 96th Indianapolis 500 Mile Race Indianapolis Motor Speedway Speedway, Indiana TBA TBA
- TBA United States Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg Streets of St. Petersburg St. Petersburg, Florida TBA TBA
- TBA United States Baltimore Grand Prix Streets of Baltimore Baltimore, Maryland TBA TBA
- TBA Brazil São Paulo Indy 300 Streets of São Paulo São Paulo, Brazil TBA TBA
- TBA United States Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama Barber Motorsports Park Birmingham, Alabama TBA TBA
  Oval/Speedway
  Road Course/Street Circuit

Teams and drivers

All chassis are composed of a Dallara "IndyCar Safety Cell" base and an aero kit of the team's choice. Two aero kits are allowed per entry, per season. Cars will be described as "Aero Kit-Engine".

Team Aero Kit(s) Engine Tire No. Driver(s) Sponsor(s) Rounds
United States A. J. Foyt Enterprises TBA TBA F TBA Brazil Vitor Meira TBA TBA
United States Andretti Autosport TBA TBA F TBA United States Marco Andretti TBA TBA
TBA United States Ryan Hunter-Reay TBA TBA
United States Chip Ganassi Racing TBA Honda F TBA TBA TBA TBA
United States Panther Racing TBA TBA F TBA United States J. R. Hildebrand TBA TBA
United States Team Penske TBA Chevrolet F TBA TBA TBA TBA
United States KV Racing Technology TBA Lotus F TBA TBA TBA TBA

Team and driver movements

References

  1. ^ IndyCar lands Title Sponsor, indystar.com, November 3, 2009
  2. ^ "echnology ICONIC Advisory Committee". IndyCar.com. Retrieved 2011-02-18.
  3. ^ a b c d "2012 car strategy embraces innovation". IndyCar.com. 2010-07-14. Retrieved 2011-02-18.
  4. ^ http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/92080
  5. ^ Autosport http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/85270. {{cite news}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  6. ^ a b c "Dallara named IndyCar chassis supplier for 2012". AutoWeek.com. 2010-07-15. Retrieved 2011-02-18.
  7. ^ "Divergent 2012 car concepts match schedule". IndyCar.com. 2011-05-10. Retrieved 2011-05-10.
  8. ^ "INDYCAR: Owners Reject Aero Kits For 2012". SpeedTV.com. 2011-05-03. Retrieved 2011-05-13.
  9. ^ "Montoya says there is no way NASCAR driver can try for $5M". Indianapolis Star. 2011-05-13. Retrieved 2011-05-13.
  10. ^ Pruett, Marshall (12 January 2011). "INDYCAR: Greater Relevance with Smaller 2012 Engines". SpeedTV.com. Retrieved 8 April 2011.
  11. ^ "INDYCAR: 2012 Engine Rules Announced". SPEED. 2010-06-02. Retrieved 2011-02-25.
  12. ^ a b c d "Manufacturer competition blooms with Lotus". IndyCar.com. 2010-11-18. Retrieved 2011-02-25.
  13. ^ "INDYCAR: 2012 Engine Has Manufacturers Listening". SPEED. 2010-06-02. Retrieved 2011-02-25.
  14. ^ a b "Honda adopts new engine formula for 2012". IndyCar.com. 2010-08-07. Retrieved 2011-02-25.
  15. ^ "INDYCAR: Cosworth 2012 Q&A". SPEED. 2010-08-19. Retrieved 2011-02-25.
  16. ^ a b c "Chevrolet revs up new engine for 2012 car". IndyCar.com. 2010-11-12. Retrieved 2011-02-25.
  17. ^ a b "ECONOMAKI: Chevrolet To Make Welcomed IndyCar Return". National Speed Sport News. 2010-11-16. Retrieved 2011-02-25.
  18. ^ "INDYCAR: Ganassi Goes With Honda For 2012". Press release. SpeedTV.com. Archived from the original on 2 June 2011. Retrieved 2 June 2011.
  19. ^ a b "Lotus to manufacture engines for IndyCar Series beginning in 2012". Sports Illustrated. 2010-11-17. Retrieved 2011-02-25.
  20. ^ a b "IndyCar: Lotus to badge engines in 2012, will compete against Honda and Chevy". AutoWeek. 2010-11-17. Retrieved 2011-02-25.
  21. ^ Cavin, Curt; Star, Indianapolis (2010-03-12). "Brazil and its drivers pumped as IndyCar invades Sao Paulo". usatoday.com. Retrieved 2010-03-15.
  22. ^ "Event Extension". indycar.com. 2008-04-06. Retrieved 2008-04-06.
  23. ^ "Grand Prix is a winner for St. Petersburg". indycar.com. 2009-04-06. Retrieved 2009-04-06.
  24. ^ Oreovicz, John (2008-04-16). "Champ Car finale signals new start for Long Beach Grand Prix". ESPN. Retrieved 2009-07-27.
  25. ^ "Indy Car race coming to Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Alabama". al.com. 2009-07-26. Retrieved 2009-07-26.
  26. ^ "Series roars into Baltimore in 2011". indycar.com. 2010-06-02. Retrieved 2010-06-02.
  27. ^ "Details of Baltimore Grand Prix expected Wednesday". baltimoresun.com. 2010-06-01. Retrieved 2010-06-02.
  28. ^ "Hamad rêve d'IndyCar". canoe.com. 2010-02-27. Retrieved 2010-02-28.
  29. ^ Indycar series pays a visit to Quebec city
  30. ^ "The Way It is New Hampshire & IndyCar's evolving schedule". gordonkirby.com. 2009-06-28. Retrieved 2009-06-30.
  31. ^ "Live Chat with Robin Miller". speedtv.com. 2009-03-13. Retrieved 2009-03-13.
  32. ^ "Schedule for 2010 still a work in progress". IndyStar.com. 2009-07-06. Retrieved 2009-07-08. [dead link‍]
  33. ^ "INDYCAR: Miller Says Cleveland Considering Combo Oval/Road Course Event!". speedtv.com. 2009-05-17. Retrieved 2009-05-17.
  34. ^ "Grand Prix of Cleveland". cleveland.com. 2009-06-24. Retrieved 2009-06-24.
  35. ^ "Is time running out on reviving Cleveland's tradition of open-wheel racing?". Elton Alexander. The Plain Dealer. 2010-07-11. Retrieved 2010-07-11. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  36. ^ [1] - Detroit News, June 27, 2010
  37. ^ "Houston expected to miss IndyCar in 2011". Houston Chronicle. 2010-07-15. Retrieved 2010-07-15.
  38. ^ "IRL thinking big in China". ibj.com. 2009-04-28. Retrieved 2009-04-28.
  39. ^ "China in IRL's future?". indystar.com. 2009-04-27. Retrieved 2009-04-27. [dead link‍]
  40. ^ "http://sports.yahoo.com/irl/news?slug=ap-irl-schedule&prov=ap&type=lgns". Associated Press. 2009-06-23. Retrieved 2009-06-23. {{cite news}}: External link in |title= (help) [dead link‍]
  41. ^ Will the IRL go international? - Fox Sports, July 2, 2009
  42. ^ http://amigosdavelocidade.uol.com.br/index.php?action=showDetails&id=9250
  43. ^ http://www.indycar.com/news/show/55-izod-indycar-series/41218-sayonara-twin-ring-motegi/
  44. ^ http://www.indycar.com/news/show/55-izod-indycar-series/43077-indy-notes-ganassi-teams-align-with-honda/
  45. ^ Beer, Matt (2009-11-30). "Andretti announces new Patrick deal". autosport.com. Haymarket Publications. Retrieved 2009-11-30.
  46. ^ "Venom Energy Drink Signs Multi-Year Sponsorship With Andretti Autosport". PR Newswire. Venom Energy. 2009-12-03. Retrieved 2009-12-03.
  47. ^ "Marco Andretti, the Twitterview". Pressdog. Pressdog. 2010-06-17. Retrieved 2010-06-17.
  48. ^ "Hunter-Reay stays with Andretti Autosport".
  49. ^ Lewandowski, Dave (2009-08-28). "Newest entrant". IndyCar Series. Indy Racing League. Retrieved 2009-08-28.
  50. ^ http://blogs.indystar.com/racingexpert/2010/12/08/dec-8-on-sarah-vitor-and-hildebrand/
  51. ^ http://www.pantherracing.com/news/index.cfm?cid=40736
  52. ^ http://auto-racing.speedtv.com/article/indycar-simona-returns-to-hvm-with-new-sponsor/
  53. ^ http://auto-racing.speedtv.com/article/indycar-wayne-taylor-racing-aiming-for-2012-program/
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