All 27 cars on the NTT IndyCar Series grid will have a new suite of telemetry onboard this season, allowing real-time monitoring of hundreds of individual data points by race control.
The new monitoring system is produced by EM Motorsport, which also successfully implemented the digital flag panels and marshalling system that the series began using last year.
The multiple systems will work in concert to provide data that can be used for many different purposes, including monitoring critical safety devices on the car and relaying that information directly to the AMR safety crew as they respond to an accident.
The data can also be used to monitor performance parameters of the car and to help spot reliability issues before they turn into costly failures.
“EM Motorsport has become a valued partner to IndyCar and our teams,” said IndyCar President Jay Frye. “Their work to implement the course marshalling system was flawless and extremely well received by our paddock, promoter partners and fans.
“Incorporating the EM Motorsport telemetry system with our growing paddock is the natural next step as definitive data is key to our race teams’ ability to make split second decisions.”
The complete set of systems was tested fully for the first time at the series’ open test session at The Thermal Club a few weeks before the start of the season.
Integration of the telemetry and marshalling systems has never been done to this degree, and is helpful in many ways. The benefits of a combined solution range from cost and complexity savings to the need for smaller wiring harnesses which results in a weight reduction in the cars themselves.
The numerous data channels stream off the cars via a small antenna located just behind the camera on top of the rollhoop, and the handling of that data is done entirely on location at the track itself.
“The NTT IndyCar Series will be the first to run this revolutionary all-in-one system of telemetry and electronic marshalling,” said EM Motorsport Deputy Manager Luca De Angelis. “This has been an ambition of EM Motorsport for many years and to achieve this with America’s premier single-seater series makes us extremely proud.
“The championship is leading by example of how other series can run a more cost-effective and elegant solution. We are greatly looking forward to working alongside IndyCar to expand the capabilities of the combined systems.”
Outside of IndyCar, EM Motorsport specializes in providing electronic safety devices to many of the largest motorsports series in the world, including Formula 1, MotoGP, and the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
The integrated system will see its first real test this weekend at the Firestone Grand Prix from the streets of St. Petersburg.
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