New push to drop IndyCar aero kit plans
IndyCar team owners are again calling upon the series to drop the idea of alternate body kits for 2013
The series originally planned to allow bodywork other than the standard Dallara parts to be made available for the new DW12 car this year, but eventually delayed the move until next season after concerns from team owners about the additional cost.
Team owners met with series CEO Randy Bernard in Detroit last weekend to clear the air after Bernard tweeted last week that there was a push from within one team to have him removed from his post, and Rahal Letterman Lanigan's Bobby Rahal told AUTOSPORT that bodywork was one of the issues that was raised.
"Some of the concerns [from the teams] are about cost," he said. "But some of it is also the ability to fix carbon work in non-sanctioned places."
Rahal is hopeful that the issue will be dealt with quickly.
"I thought the meeting was very constructive," he said. "I don't think there were any real answers, but the owners certainly made their case and the atmosphere was respectful. I think now IndyCar has to go back and deal with the concerns that the owners have, and we expect to hear something in the next couple of weeks."
Speaking in Detroit on Sunday, Bernard said that he was sensitive to the teams' concerns.
"We do have issues, and part of my job is trying to work with them on cost control and bringing costs down," he said. "I don't think that we're taking a position of, 'too bad'. We're taking a position of, 'we need to help you, and we're going to work with you to try to bring those costs down.'"
General Motors, Honda and Lotus have already expressed an intention to build their own bodykits in 2013, while Dallara has also explored creating an alternative aero kit ether under its own name or on a contract basis for another company. The kits are expected to cost $75,000 each, with teams needing separate kits for road/street courses and ovals.
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| Series | IndyCar |
| Author | Mark Glendenning |
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