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2019 IndyCar development to be defined in August “at the earliest”

Although IndyCar is set to open development ‘boxes’ for teams in 2019, what can and can’t be altered from spec has not yet been defined and will require team feedback, according to IndyCar’s competition department.

James Hinchcliffe, Schmidt Peterson Motorsports Honda

James Hinchcliffe, Schmidt Peterson Motorsports Honda

Scott R LePage / Motorsport Images

Josef Newgarden, Team Penske Chevrolet, Simon Pagenaud, Team Penske Chevrolet, Will Power, Team Penske Chevrolet
Suspension
Will Power, Team Penske Chevrolet
Spencer Pigot, Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet, James Hinchcliffe, Schmidt Peterson Motorsports Honda
Crew members working on the suspension of Takuma Sato, A.J. Foyt Enterprises Honda's car
Graham Rahal, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda and other cars wait to go to tech inspection

Series president of competition and operations Jay Frye told Motorsport.com that the teams’ areas of potential development will be defined “in August at the earliest – maybe later than that.

“We have talked about which ‘boxes’ we’re opening on the car for the teams to develop within. And about three-quarters of the way through the season we’ll talk to the teams like we always do and ask what adjustability they don’t have in the car at the moment that they would like, going forward, to get more potential out of it.”

Frye and Bill Pappas, VP of competition and race engineering, confirmed that they will also be listening to input from teams regarding what they would look like to see incorporated as part of the spec Dallara package in 2019, aside from areas for team modifications.

“Yes there are changes you can make across the board,” said Frye. “If you look at the rear wing on the superspeedway car, for example, it’s smaller than in the original drawings of it because when we did the first tests we discovered it needed to be reduced in size to reduce drag. So there’s things that we can do as we go, if a piece isn’t working as we intended.”

Pappas said to Motorsport.com: “First of all, we have to respect what Dallara is doing for us as series partners. But we’ll take information and input from the teams. But as yet we haven’t heard yet from the teams what changes they would like Dallara to make spec for next year. Some of them want to go their own way in certain areas, some are happy with the way this package has already played out and the level of [customization] they can already make – for instance, with shock and damper programs.

“Personally, I think what areas should be spec and what areas could be opened for next year is something that can’t be fully defined until we see how this car, this aerokit, reacts on each track we go to. So that’s why it could be after the season that the final decision is made.”

Pappas also confirmed that Pocono aero spec for this year will see IndyCar return to the rear wing variations seen at Indy, and with the underfloor strakes back in place.

 

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