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IndyCar To Test F1-Style Aeroscreen
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IndyCar’s president of competition and operations Jay Frye says that an aeroscreen very similar to Formula 1’s proposed Shield arrangement could be tested as early as September, as reported by Motorsport.com.
Next weekend will see the Shield tested by the Ferrari F1 team during practice for the British Grand Prix, and Frye says a similar device could be trialed in one of the 2018 IndyCar’s sign-off tests.
Those tests, which will see Juan Pablo Montoya driving the Chevrolet-powered car and Oriol Servia piloting the Honda-engined machine, will take place at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on July 25-26, Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course on Aug. 1, Iowa Speedway on Aug. 28 and Sebring International Raceway on Sept. 26.
Frye told Motorsport.com that if IndyCar does go the route of using a screen like Formula 1’s Shield, they will probably have it “slightly more vertical – less raked back.”
One of the problems in question of the Shield is ensuring the sightlines of the shield work for different tracks, like Texas' high-banked track.
Frye also said that IndyCar had been consulting with the armed forces to talk about the materials used in military applications such as the canopies of Lockheed-Martin F-16s, and also talking to NHRA teams. Don Schumacher Racing was the first NHRA squad to introduce fully enclosed cockpit ‘pods’ for its Top Fuel racers.
Regarding the potential for oil smears or stone-caused pitting in the screen, Frye is expecting the screens to carry tear-offs, like a helmet-visor or a stock-car windshield.
Next weekend will see the Shield tested by the Ferrari F1 team during practice for the British Grand Prix, and Frye says a similar device could be trialed in one of the 2018 IndyCar’s sign-off tests.
Those tests, which will see Juan Pablo Montoya driving the Chevrolet-powered car and Oriol Servia piloting the Honda-engined machine, will take place at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on July 25-26, Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course on Aug. 1, Iowa Speedway on Aug. 28 and Sebring International Raceway on Sept. 26.
Frye told Motorsport.com that if IndyCar does go the route of using a screen like Formula 1’s Shield, they will probably have it “slightly more vertical – less raked back.”
One of the problems in question of the Shield is ensuring the sightlines of the shield work for different tracks, like Texas' high-banked track.
Frye also said that IndyCar had been consulting with the armed forces to talk about the materials used in military applications such as the canopies of Lockheed-Martin F-16s, and also talking to NHRA teams. Don Schumacher Racing was the first NHRA squad to introduce fully enclosed cockpit ‘pods’ for its Top Fuel racers.
Regarding the potential for oil smears or stone-caused pitting in the screen, Frye is expecting the screens to carry tear-offs, like a helmet-visor or a stock-car windshield.
