Honda buoyed by progress with IndyCar twin-turbo engine

Honda says that it is satisfied with the progress being made on its twin-turbo IndyCar engine after track-testing the unit for the first time at Fontana on Tuesday

Mark Glendenning Sep 27, 2013, 10:38 AM

Simon Pagenaud ran between 50 and 60 laps in a spare Sam Schmidt car fitted with the new-spec Honda engine, reportedly posting speeds in the 211mph range.

Unofficial times put the quickest outright lap of the test, set by Helio Castroneves, at just over 218mph, but HPD technical director Roger Griffiths told AUTOSPORT that Honda was not focusing on outright pace from the engine that it will race next year.

"It was a successful test," Griffiths said. "We had a test plan, we ran through it, did what we needed to do, and are happy with the result. It was a good day.

"We didn't go out to try and go fast; we didn't go out to try to set a record number of laps. We had a specific test programme and a specific list of items that we wanted to focus on, and that's what we did."

Honda currently races a single-turbo configuration of its V6 IndyCar engine, but was working on a change to the twin-turbo layout for 2014 even before such a switch was mandated by the series.