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IndyCar engine firms relaxed about 2012 car's pace so far

IndyCar engine manufacturers believe that the series will not suffer if the new DW12 chassis initially proves to be slower than expected on ovals

Championship officials have long been optimistic that the new chassis will outperform its predecessor at tracks such as Indianapolis, although this has not been borne out in initial testing. But Honda Performance Development technical director Roger Griffiths told speedtv.com that early requests for more horsepower have now died down.

"There hasn't been any more talk of needing more power," he said. "I had quite a long chat with one of my counterparts at GM, and we kind of concluded that to us, if we're racing at Indy at 215 mph rather than 225, it really doesn't matter as long as the racing is good.

"If the racing is poor, and we're slow, then that's obviously a problem. But if it takes us three years to get back up to 225, so what? At the end of the day, it's a number.

"If the car is difficult to drive, that's good. That means the good drivers will do well and the drivers that aren't as good won't do as well. If [the DW12] is right at its performance limit to start, what are we going to do with it for the next five years? We'd be starting off right where we just ended up with the previous car."

The initial phase of manufacturer testing of the DW12 wrapped up with a three-day outing at Sebring last week, during which the new McLaren control ECU was trialled for the first time.

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