INDYCAR 2012

2012 IZOD INDYCAR SERIES SCHEDULE TO REMAIN AT 15 RACES

“After carefully considering all possible options for an additional race, we felt it was in our best interest to keep our schedule at its current 15-event lineup,” said Randy Bernard, CEO, INDYCAR. “We want to make sure that when we add events to our roster they have long-term potential and are given every opportunity to be successfully promoted. The more we explored, the more we felt like we were rushing what could be good, long-lasting opportunities for the sport.

The 2012 IZOD IndyCar Series season finale will be held Sept. 15 at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif. Officials announced today that the race distance will be extended to 500 miles. Auto Club Speedway last played host to a 500-mile Indy car race in 2002, which was won by Jimmy Vasser.

“We wanted to do something special to enhance the excitement to the season finale and renew the tradition of 500-mile open-wheel races in Southern California,” said Bernard. “We think it’s something our fans will enjoy and adds another element to what is already shaping up to be an exciting championship battle.”

INDYCAR TO RE-INTRODUCE PUSH-TO-PASS FOR REMAINING IZOD INDYCAR SERIES ROAD/STREET EVENTS

Push to pass will return to the IZOD IndyCar Series for the five remaining road/street course events on the 2012 schedule, beginning with the Honda Indy Toronto on July 6-8.

The overtake assist feature, introduced to the series in 2009, allows a driver to add turbocharger boost and additional RPM with the press of a button on the steering wheel to complete a pass.

“It will be similar to what it was in the past because we know that model worked,” said Will Phillips, vice president of technology, INDYCAR.

The additional boost is added for a pre-determined amount of time which will be determined by INDYCAR depending on the circuit. The sanctioning body will also determine the total amount of time available, recharge time and any delay in the system prior to each activation, though the engine manufacturers may adjust the settings below the requirements to optimize their engine’s performance.

Push to pass will not engage until a certain throttle position is reached and will disengage if the driver lifts or presses the button again.

As part of the introduction of push-to-pass, the base turbocharger boost level will decrease to 150 kPa. When the system is engaged, the boost increases to 160 kPa on the 2.2-liter V6 engines supplied by Chevrolet, Honda and Lotus.

INDYCAR APPROVES LOTUS’ REQUEST TO MODIFY IZOD INDYCAR SERIES ENGINE

INDYCAR  approved Lotus’ request to modify homologated parts to improve performance of its 2.2-liter, twin-turbocharged V6 engine pursuant to engine technical regulations established before the 2012 IZOD IndyCar Series season.

At mid-season and again at the end of the year, manufacturers whose engines are statistically more than 2½ percent deficient in power may, at the discretion of INDYCAR, make improvements to components to be homologated. Alterations are intended to put the engine within the 2½ percent window, and they will be introduced on only new engines being sent to the track.

Manufacturers must present data to support their case, which is reviewed along with relevant data collected by the sanctioning body’s engine support engineers. Manufacturers provide which components they seek to modify, along with projected gains and their scheduled introduction.

Lotus’ first modification is scheduled to be introduced at a July 2 test at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course with the No. 78 Lotus-HVM Racing car driven by Simona de Silvestro. Subsequent modifications are scheduled to be incorporated for the Honda Indy Toronto on July 6-8, the Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma (Aug. 26-28) and the Grand Prix of Baltimore (Sept. 2-4).

INDYCAR director of engine development Trevor Knowles said Chevrolet and Honda have been apprised of Lotus’ modification schedule. Old parts remain homologated until 2013.

The engine rules will be stable through the 2016 IZOD IndyCar Series season, with any corrections or modifications decided by INDYCAR after consultation with the INDYCAR Engine Committee.

IZOD INDYCAR SERIES POINT STANDINGS
as of June 24, 2012

1. Will Power       286
2. Ryan Hunter-Reay       283
3. Scott Dixon       271
4. Helio Castroneves       261
5. James Hinchcliffe       256
6. Simon Pagenaud (R)       246
7. Tony Kanaan       235
8. Dario Franchitti       216
9. Ryan Briscoe       205
10. Graham Rahal       193

IZOD INDYCAR SERIES MANUFACTURERS CHAMPIONSHIP
as of June 24, 2012

1. Chevrolet       72
2. Honda       62
3. Lotus       36

SUNOCO ROOKIE OF THE YEAR STANDINGS
as of June 24, 2012

1. Simon Pagenaud       246
2. Josef Newgarden       126
3. Katherine Legge       103
4. Bryan Clauson       13
5. Wade Cunningham       13
6. Jean Alesi       13

2012 INDYCAR SCHEDULE AND RESULTS

INDYCAR announced plans for its inaugural race in China on Nov. 10, 2011, but it seems the race, scheduled for August 19, has been cancelled in favor of a beer festival. INDYCAR CEO Randy Bernard said INDYCAR is “not closing the door” on opportunities for a future race there.

“We wanted to give the China race every opportunity to move forward and be successful, but INDYCAR has been notified by the promoter that the event is cancelled for 2012,” said Bernard. “We were informed that the promoter was trying to move the event to a different date and location. After ongoing discussions regarding alternative dates, as well as doing our due diligence in exploring alternate venues in China, the promoter cancelled the event. A decision had to be made to allow INDYCAR and its participants to plan accordingly for the second half of the season.”

It seems the Qingdao festival is taking precedence over the race.  The new mayor that took over the host city in March reportedly has the opinion that the race should not take place at the same time as a beer festival.  Clearly, the mayor, nor any of his advisors have been to an INDYCAR race.  We’re not sure what goes more hand in hand than drinking and watching cars zoom by.

For the last 22 years, Qingdao has hosted the largest beer festival in Asia with international breweries from all over the globe flocking to China’s Shandong Province.  The event lasts for two weeks and begins with a grand opening ceremony, followed by a beer tasting, evening entertainment, karaoke, drinking competitions, and a themed final ceremony.  Besides beer, there is a mammoth amount of food to dig in to.  It is unclear as to whether the race was supposed to be the spectacle of the day or just add to the beer festival, but original track maps show the race on the same streets as the beer fest.  The track map has already been removed from the INDYCAR website.

Bernard added that INDYCAR is investigating a possible replacement event that will keep the IZOD IndyCar Series schedule at 16 races.

“We are working with our promoters that host events in the second half of our calendar to keep them apprised of how the date of a potential new race could impact our current schedule,” he said.

For more information on the Qingdao International Beer Festival, visit http://www.qingdaochinaguide.com/news/events/international-beer-festival.html.  To keep up to date on the INDYCAR series, visit http://www.indycar.com/.