Handling Issues for 2004????

[Tim Northcutt]

In today's Indy Star, in the auto racing section, Scott dixon talked about some of his impressions concerning handling issues with the cars due to less downforce this year....to indirectly quote him, 200 lbs. less downforce makes a great difference in the handling of the cars this year...

To paraphrase, he says that his car is a "handful" to drive, and he expressed empathy for his teammate, Manning, who is getting his first exposure to the cars in this series....

I sure hope this doesn't create issues concerning accidents and such due to more rule tweaks to slow the cars down....

If slowing them down by reducing downforce creates a whole separate set of safety issues related to chassis stability, then the aero "solution" to reduce speeds (and thus make things "safer") doesn't accomplish its purpose -- more safety for the competitors...

Your thoughts???

[climb]

I think that the state of things shows the mental confusion reigning in IRL bosses' head.
2003 accidents, primely the tracig one to Renna, have provoked a disordered series of measures on rulebooks, who didn't have any common principle.
Engines, airboxes, down force etc, a real mess, just to show the public opinion that "something has been done".
Understand Dixon's concern

[GP Racer]

I'm not sure this adds anything to the conversation, but, I went through some of the teams comments after the Phoenix tests, and the comments were mixed at best on how there cars handled.

Matsurra said, "the rear end of the car felt nervous, and I hope we can fix the problem before Homestead".
Tony Kannan said, "Its a new aero setup, and we just need to get used to it".
Scott Sharp said, "my car felt pretty good out there".

Thats just a sampling, but it does seem that nobody gave there cars rave reviews. Who knows how they really feel.

I find it difficult to believe that a pro series like the IRL, with all the resources at their disposal, wouldn't be able to get their aero package right. Think about how many knowledgable people that are involved with this series. Could they really screw it up?

I also hope they didn't overreact to the accidents they had. There unfortunately inevitable, no matter whats done. I think the series will be fine.

[Hazza]

Scott Dixon from www.autosport.com

Q: Has the IRL responded well to the safety issues that arose in the second half of 2003?

I think everybody is focused on it a fair bit, especially after some of the incidents. They definitely need to work on some of the aspects of the car lifting. I know they have been spending a lot of money doing that already and they have made a lot of improvements. It's unfortunate, but a lot of times you learn from accidents and maybe they wouldn't have thought of fixing things if these things hadn't happened. It's part of racing and you can't do much about it. It's pretty obvious that going to an all-oval series is always going to be more dangerous. You can't escape it. I think they have done a great job. They're making improvements. At Indy they will slow the cars down with a 3-litre engine and less downforce. That's going to help a lot.

Q: Will cutting the power create an additional problem of running too close together?

That's the problem. That, and you don't want the car to be too easy to drive. If they just took the horsepower away your grandmother could drive the bloody thing. Last year they had a good balance. The cars were difficult, especially on the mile tracks. The shorter circuits were a lot of fun. If they just take the horsepower away the cars will be too easy and the lesser teams will find it easier. You'll just get a big pack of cars and they'll all crash into each other. There will be drivers up there that probably shouldn't be out there racing with other guys. I really do hope they look into it extremely well, especially since the first showing of the new package is going to be at Indy. It will be a difficult job for them, but I think everybody is confident the IRL will do the right thing.

[Hazza]

Where as our mate Sam Hornish says...

Sam Hornish from www.Autosport.com

Q: The IRL's open tests were both staged at modified tracks, and there are changes to the cars as well. Has that affected your testing?

"This testing will carry over to the other mile tracks. Both ends are different. There are a fair amount of bumps here, and the bumps help you at Richmond to put the power down even though the tracks are different. The fact that one corner is tighter than the other helps you out for Nazareth. Phoenix is the big place, because in my opinion, getting the year started off with a bang is the biggest thing. You want to start good and build your momentum into the season. Miami is like Texas or Chicago but the corners are a little bit tighter with longer straights. I don't think there will be as many lanes as there are at some other tracks but there will be some good racing."

Q: How are the changes working so far?

"The car has changed quite a bit in its looks and some of the rule changes by the IRL have taken away some of the downforce. I'm all for that because it brings the drivers back into it. While it's great to have a lot of close races, sometimes it's good to get them a little more spread apart. It's good to have five or six guys fighting for the lead, side by side, but if you get the whole field up there and you can't really move around, there are too many risks involved."

Q: Will going to the smaller engine at Indianapolis accentuate the problem of running too close?

"What they are doing is probably the right thing to do. There are so many cars running up there and in order to keep them at reasonable speeds they have to put so much wing on them. That hurts because with so much wing, almost anybody can drive the car. It's more about patience and it's almost like a restrictor plate race. I think when they take that away they are going to give us a little bit more flexibility with our wings so that we're close to the same speed but a little bit more on the edge. That will help because it'll separate us a little bit. Some people will go with a higher downforce setup to move through the corners and keep the momentum up, especially if you take some horsepower away. It's always about momentum – you can't really drive it hard in there and get off the gas, it's more about just being smooth. I think the drivers that have done well on the short tracks where you could get the car on the edge are going to continue to excel."