IndyCar: The DW12 good for the oval

Last November, the average speed reached by the new Dallara chassis, the DW12, on the Indianapolis speedway was 346,90 km/h (215 mph). A time to compare to the 365,79 km/h (227 mph) average recorded by Scott Dixon during qualifying for the Indy 500 last May. Questions then deserved to be asked? “ We have since studied these figures with one of the single-seaters produced, significantly different from the prototype in terms of the mirrors, the fairing of the rear wheels, the construction of the chassis and the integration of Zylon on the sidepods., explains Will Phillips, the vice president of technology in IndyCar. The production car benefits from better airflow, which increases speed. We then sought to improve aerodynamic downforce by optimizing the aero and mechanical set-up, but also by adding new body parts. This showed us that with a normal output of 575 horsepower, the car was capable of easily reaching 362 km/h (225 mph) »