Pre Season Testing Underway

The first test of the new season.

                             Scott Dixons new colours for 2018 revealed early this week.

The sleek and racy 2018 Indy car had its first en masse showing in the opening day of the preseason open test at ISM Raceway, and it couldn't have come quickly enough.

Twenty-three Verizon IndyCar Series entries took part in six hours of practice on the 1.022-mile oval outside Phoenix that will play host to the second race of the 2018 season in April. More than 2,600 laps were completed to the delight of the drivers involved.

"It was nice to get behind the wheel of a car on an oval after everybody has been talking about it for so long," said Andretti Autosport's Ryan Hunter-Reay, driver of the No. 28 DHL Honda. "Got to get in there, get a feel for it myself. I liked it. It was good fun. Definitely (the car feels) lighter, a lot lighter than when we were here last year."

The lighter feeling Hunter-Reay referenced is from the universal aero kit every Verizon IndyCar Series competitor is using for the first time this year. The new design with its bold look produces significantly less downforce than the previous competitive aero kits from manufacturers Chevrolet and Honda. 

Most of the downforce is now generated from underneath the car, which can make it feel less stable, or lighter, through turns. It puts driver skill front and center in developing a fast car that handles well.

"It's different," reigning series champion Josef Newgarden, driver of the No. 1 Hitachi Team Penske Chevrolet, said of the 2018 car. "I think there's definitely adjustments that need to be made from last year, obviously. It's useful to have this time and to be able to work through everything because I think we're all going to need it."

Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing set the pace in each of the day's three-hour sessions. Defending Indianapolis 500 winner Takuma Sato, who rejoined RLL this season after five seasons away, led the afternoon practice with a lap of 187.022 mph (19.6726 seconds) in the No. 30 Honda. Teammate Graham Rahal was fastest in the evening practice and quickest overall in the No. 15 Honda, at 189.090 mph (19.4574 seconds).

"We're good and Takuma is right behind us," Rahal said. "And frankly, that lap wasn't anywhere near what the potential was. We were on a (19.30-second lap), but I caught traffic.

"The car has pace. Both cars have pace, and so that's awesome. We haven't had a lot of luck here the last few years. We're used to coming here and getting our butts kicked. To be able to come here and be competitive with this aero kit is awesome."

Sato followed up being fastest in the afternoon by running second to his teammate under the lights with a lap of 189.065 mph.

"I was happy to get back behind the wheel," Sato said. "This is our first oval test with the team. It wasn't flawless because we had some electrical issues again, but the engineers deal with it very well. Once we get going, I think we were very comfortable."

The lone incident of the day came with less than 30 minutes remaining in the evening practice. Rookie Matheus "Matt" Leist spun in the No. 4 ABC Supply AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet exiting Turn 2, but did not make wall contact.

"I was already doing race stints, we had already done our qualifying (simulation) stint," said Leist, who was fastest in a Thursday test among five rookies and two drivers who had no previous ISM Raceway experience in an Indy car. "Tony (Kanaan, Leist's teammate) was coming out of the pits and I was behind him, and he stopped too much. I was carrying a lot of speed and I lost the rear and it just spun. Fortunately, I didn't make contact."

Team Penske's Simon Pagenaud, who won last year's Phoenix Grand Prix at ISM Raceway, was third at night and overall, at 188.430 mph in the No. 22 Menards Team Penske Chevrolet. Newgarden clocked in fourth overall, at 188.182 mph.

Al, I can say is roll on March 11th and the first race of the new season at St Pete its going to be a great season once again and with these off season changes  its like a fresh start for everyone.

Below is the round up on how the day ended for everyone.

1 15 Rahal, Graham D/H/F Test Session 3 00:19.4574 189.090 110

2 30 Sato, Takuma D/H/F Test Session 3 00:19.4600 189.065 163

3 22 Pagenaud, Simon D/C/F Test Session 3 00:19.5256 188.430 124

4 1 Newgarden, Josef D/C/F Test Session 3 00:19.5513 188.182 150

5 14 Kanaan, Tony D/C/F Test Session 3 00:19.5904 187.806 64

6 28 Hunter-Reay, Ryan D/H/F Test Session 3 00:19.5990 187.724 122

7 98 Andretti, Marco D/H/F Test Session 3 00:19.6393 187.339 102

8 9 Dixon, Scott D/H/F Test Session 3 00:19.6807 186.945 91

9 27 Rossi, Alexander D/H/F Test Session 3 00:19.7134 186.634 121

10 4 Leist, Matheus (R) D/C/F Test Session 3 00:19.7154 186.616 159

11 12 Power, Will D/C/F Test Session 3 00:19.7432 186.353 160

12 18 Bourdais, Sebastien D/H/F Test Session 2 00:19.8250 185.584 103

13 21 Pigot, Spencer D/C/F Test Session 3 00:19.9261 184.642 252

14 6 Wickens, Robert (R) D/H/F Test Session 3 00:19.9364 184.547 203

15 23 Kimball, Charlie D/C/F Test Session 3 00:19.9495 184.426 102

16 20 Carpenter, Ed D/C/F Test Session 3 00:20.0271 183.711 100

17 5 Hinchcliffe, James D/H/F Test Session 3 00:20.0465 183.533 109

18 10 Jones, Ed D/H/F Test Session 2 00:20.0593 183.416 95

19 59 Chilton, Max D/C/F Test Session 3 00:20.0626 183.386 129

20 19 Fittipaldi, Pietro (R) D/H/F Test Session 1 00:20.0669 183.347 242

21 26 Veach, Zach (R) D/H/F Test Session 3 00:20.1814 182.306 169

22 32 Kaiser, Kyle (R) D/C/F Test Session 2 00:20.2367 181.808 254

23 88 Chaves, Gabby D/C/F Test Session 3 00:20.3407 180.879 122

24 26 Andretti, Marco D/H/F Test Session 1 00:20.5878 178.708 18

(R) Rookie
Total Laps for Combined Sessions: 3264
(C)hassis: D=Dallara | (A)erokit: C=Chevy, H=Honda | (E)ngine: C=Chevy, H=Honda | (T)ire: F=Firestone

Information provided by Indy Racing Information System - Copyright INDYCAR 2018 

Media details from Indy Car Media.

The Windscreen arrives.

INDYCAR will take the next step in the evolution of its driver safety program by testing a windscreen on an Indy car for the first time on track, Thursday, Feb. 8, at ISM Raceway. The test will be held in conjunction with the Verizon IndyCar Series' preseason open test near Phoenix.

The windscreen, under development for nearly two years, will be affixed to a Chip Ganassi Racing Honda driven by four-time Verizon IndyCar Series champion Scott Dixon. The primary goal of the test will be to validate visual acuity for the driver in various lighting conditions - under full sun, at dusk and at night under track lighting. Seen above is my good friend and Dixon Crew Chief Blair Julian (in black at rear) assisting in the fitting of the screen for the test.

The testing will take place on the day set aside for rookie oval testing and Dixon is expected to turn his first laps in the late afternoon. 

"This has been a long process, one that's been very methodical and purposeful," INDYCAR President of Competition and Operations Jay Frye said of the windscreen project. "We have been striving to create a safety piece that aesthetically looks good and works in all conditions, and this is a test of those things. Any piece we put on an Indy car must work for multiple types of venues and different lighting conditions. It has to be versatile."

The windscreen is made of a proprietary Opticor advanced transparency material by PPG, the same material the company uses in its production of fighter jet canopies. The material has shown to be stronger, lighter and more impact-resistant than polycarbonate previously used, according to Jeff Horton, INDYCAR's director of engineering and safety, who has spearheaded windscreen development with Dr. Terry Trammell, INDYCAR medical consultant.

The prototype windscreen has been tested in a scale-model wind tunnel and racing simulator at Dallara, INDYCAR's chassis producer. Harding Racing's Gabby Chaves provided driver feedback after testing in the Dallara driving simulator last year. The on-track test at ISM Raceway is the next step in its evolution, though Frye said there is no timetable for implementation in Verizon IndyCar Series competition.

"We've tested this at Dallara's simulator, but this will be the first time it has been on a car at speed," Frye said. "So, this is just the next step in the process."

It certainly will be very interesting to read and hear the comments after the test and the INDYCAR version is certainly way more pleasing on the eye than the currently seen versions of the F1 Halo due to be used in this years up coming F1 Season.

Photos from INDYCAR Media.