Barnhart on 2012

Some interesting comments from Brian Barnhart on the Thursday evening Trackside with Cavin and Kevin.

"We are extremely excited and pleased by the interest level that is being expressed in the IndyCar series for the next generation of car. We, frankly never have had an in interest level as high we have right now in terms of chassis producers...

Our timeline is to do something in the Spring; we are just continuing to do our due diligence in the process. We are encouraging each of these manufacturers to talk directly our teams, meet with the teams, hear what the team principles are looking for, what's important to the team manager, to the crew guys that work on the car and then we want these manufacturers to incorporate those thoughts into their business model that they bring back to us. Our approach is we are not looking for exclusivity. We would like to have competition in chassis; we would even more like to have competition on the engine side...

Our opinion on the DeltaWing is that is a very innovative, interesting concept. Because it is radically different than a more evolutionary chassis it has generated a lot of unknowns that need to be proven, it has raised a lot of questions that need to be answered. Our opinion on that is the best way to answer those questions and to prove those unknowns is to see a prototype or multiple prototypes built and put them on the race track and see if it does what is advertised to do. At this point in time, people have to remember it is just a concept and until the concept becomes reality it is tough to answer some of the questions and prove some of the unknowns..."

Do you believe him?

Are you surprised he said they would like multiple chassis and really want multiple engines?

Does this eliminate the DeltaWing from being part of the 2012 lineup?

I could be wrong, but I really think the Delta wing is more about INFLUENCING the next car than BEING the next car.... I am sure they would be glad to go into the car business but I think it is more about the team owners trying to push the process and type of car in a particular direction that they see as better for the long haul.....

That being said - I am not sure if it matters if the Delta wing itself is on or off the table as long as its "message" is heard... I give that a 50-50 chance at best since it seems Barnhart is positioning to defend the status quo.....

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Our approach is we are not looking for exclusivity. We would like to have competition in chassis;

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REALLY?!?!

I'd LOVE that but it seems contrary to all the noises we've been hearing so far....?

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Originally Posted by Wilf

Are you surprised he said they would like multiple chassis and really want multiple engines?

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very and pleasantly

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Originally Posted by V12

REALLY?!?!

I'd LOVE that but it seems contrary to all the noises we've been hearing so far....?

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All the noises you've been hearing so far were prior to March 1st when Randy Bernard came into power. Everything we've heard since March 1st has has a slightly upbeat tone to it, including this.

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Originally Posted by Chamoo

All the noises you've been hearing so far were prior to March 1st when Randy Bernard came into power. Everything we've heard since March 1st has has a slightly upbeat tone to it, including this.

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RB has made it very clear from day 1 that he is interested in what the fans think.....and i'd say its universal across the boards that the series needs chassis and engine compitition

Beyond engine and chassis competition being what the fans what, its structurally good for the sport.

Having another manufacture means additional advertising dollars, and in the case of Mazda a serious open wheel driver development program. So the buy in to support the series publicly is huge, but primarily it helps develop teams and drivers. Back when CART had Honda, Toyota and Ford they all had primary test teams.

So for example before Juan Pablo Montoya's 1998 rookie season with Target Chip Ganassi he had 15 to 20 days in the car testing before the season, most of which was paid for by Toyota. Compare that to this year's rookie field and Simona De Selvstro has the most testing miles of all the rookies, and she only has four days in the car, and even then the amount of miles she ran per day doesn't compare to what they used to do at those engine tests.

Also, if there's more than one engine supplier then teams get paid for the space on their engine cowlings. There's also a knock on effect as engine manufactures bring in their business partners which helps build the B2B network and results in more sponsors for teams.

I doubt if mutiple chassis do anything to bring money into the series. Multiple engines would definitely do that, as long as people are paying enough attention to make winning the race worth something to the manufacturer.

I don't think we can expect anything close to the full-blown chassis competition seen in the old CART. If there will be multiple chassis constructors, I would expect something more along the lines of Grand-Am. Multiple constructors but strict homologation. Anything more is unrealistic.

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Originally Posted by Dr. Krogshöj

I don't think we can expect anything close to the full-blown chassis competition seen in the old CART. If there will be multiple chassis constructors, I would expect something more along the lines of Grand-Am. Multiple constructors but strict homologation. Anything more is unrealistic.

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Multiple constructors but strict homologation? Intersting...I might just say that you write the rules in a pretty tight box, that is what you will have. HOWEVER, there still should be some latitude to develop the car with minor tweaks. The way it is now, all the Dallaras have the same aero bits and suspension bits.

We need multiple motors FOR SURE, and from there the rest might just happen.

From the sounds of it, Barnhart has changed his tune because the new boss knows what we have figured out. Spec series are just support series for other brands of racing, and the IRL is supposed to be the top OW series in North America with a unique and wide selection of tracks. They have the wide selection of tracks, now the car has to match....

As for the Delta Wing. Well, if one hits the track, I would LOVE to see it, but I suspect it is an idea factory where maybe one or two of them might make it to a race car. VS did a bit on it on the weekend's broadcast, and when they panned the cam around the car, it looked a LOT more realistic in proportion and scope than I expected.