Earlier this week, IndyCar staged another test for its incoming hybrid powertrain at the Homestead-Miami Speedway road course.
The test was the first run since November, and comes after reliability issues and supply concerns forced the series to delay the introduction of the hybrid system until the latter part of the 2024 season.
In contrast to previous tests, this week’s running went very smoothly. There were few to no failures while out on track and drivers were able to add many more miles to the dataset.
Arrow McLaren and Team Penske provided cars and drivers for Chevrolet’s representation in the three-day test, and Andretti Global and Chip Ganassi Racing ran laps with their Honda power units.
In all, nearly 3,200 miles were driven and not once did a car have to be towed back to pit lane.
Alexander Rossi stopped on track at one time, but was able to successfully use his hybrid system to restart the engine and drive back under his own power. This ability is a major selling point for the series, which currently has to send a safety crew out on track to restart stalled cars with a handheld starter.
“No issues, no tow-ins, just smooth,” reported Will Power after the test. “It all went very smoothly.
“It’s hardly different [from our current cars], to be honest. With [automatic] regeneration, you push a button on [corner] exit, and it’s not like you do that every corner.
“But every time you come in [the pits] the engine guys are making changes, going through the process, learning things. It’s going to be good.”
The week before this latest test, nearly every driver and team was on track with a modified setup that included all the new lighter structural components, but left off the actual supercapacitor and electrification system.
That arrangement is how all 27 cars will be configured to start the 2024 season, with the full electrification coming later in the year.
With this test having gone so well, the hope is that sufficient numbers of the hybrid components can be produced and copies distributed to all the teams soon so they can begin preparing to race with the new system in the coming months.
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