Honda’s aerokit for IndyCars

Slowly and steadily, IndyCar is inching towards F1. Automakers will provide their customer teams not only with engines as in the past, but also with complete aerodynamic packages. Chevy released its new aero kit last month and now Honda has followed suit with its own.

Intro to the Honda aerokit

The Honda kit is designed specifically for road courses and short ovals. These will feature a high degree of downforce which would hamper high-speed running around super speedways. The aerokit has been unveiled recently. It is produced by Honda Performance Development (HPD), a Honda subsidiary, and consists of 200 pieces. These can be fine-tuned using different configurations to suit the needs of drivers and engineers. The company’s existing dallara chassis is compatible with this high-tech aerokit. Honda claims to have developed this kit following an extensive development process that factored in the company’s experience with endurance cars, particularly Le Mans prototypes.  The development procedure was rigorous, with CAD and CFD software being used before it was validated on simulators and tested in wind tunnels. Andretti Autosport played a key role in making the aerokit track-ready.

More about the Honda Aerokit

The parts being homologated, manufacturers will be able to make only a limited number of updates. These will have to conform to tortuous regulations. The sidepods and the engines can’t be changed for two years. However, a new component can be homologated in any one of three “legality boxes” in the 2015 and 2016 seasons.  A total of three upgrades can be used by the manufacturers during this period. The previous bodywork, made by Italian chassis maker Dallara, has been used at the season-opener at Brasilia on March 8. The new bodywork made its first public appearance at the two-day in-season test at Barber on March 16-17. This test will allow the teams to glean useful information, enabling them to understand the aerokit and allow for its further refinement. The kit will make its race debut at Saint Petersburg, and the oval kit will see the light of the day at the Indy 500 event.

On Honda Performance Development

Here, it would also be helpful to expound a bit on Honda Performance Development (HPD)-this entity was founded in 1993 to spearhead Honda’s entry into IndyCar racing. Honda has been thoroughly successful in IndyCar, as it has been in F1 also. Its achievements include 211 race victories, 15 drivers’ championships, 6 manufacturers’ championships and 10 Indy500 victories since 2004. In fact, the IndyCar 500 event last year was won by Ryan Hunter-Reay in a Honda-powered Andretti Autosport. HPD has also contributed massively to Honda’s successful endurance car racing record.  2 LMP2 wins in 2010 and a privateer LMP1 victory in 2010 were achieved by vehicles using HPD technology. Multiple American Le Mans championships and 5 LMP2 class victories at the 12 Hours of Sebring since 2007, round off their list of achievements.  HPD offers a complete line of race engines and allied technology. From amateur to professional, HPD technology is a must-have for every racer.

Conclusion

With new rules, and new designs, the IndyCar championship may well be Honda’s ticket to motorsport glory in 2015.