Honda gets its turbo updates
The turbocharger flap between Chevrolet and Honda has ended with the latter manufacturer on top after INDYCAR announced yesterday that a three-person panel upheld its ruling to allow a new compressor cover for the single turbocharger.
According to one report, the new cover is expected to yield an extra 10-15 horsepower. Honda, which uses the single turbo as opposed to Chevy and Lotus' twin turbos, issued the following statement by Steve Eriksen, vice president of its Honda Performance Development group:
"We are gratified that an independent panel has upheld INDYCAR’s ruling of April 18, 2012, which approved use of the 0.74 A/R compressor cover for single-turbocharged engines competing in this year’s IZOD IndyCar Series. INDYCAR committed well in advance of the 2012 IZOD IndyCar Series season to structure engine regulations that would ensure parity in turbocharger performance for both single and twin turbo configurations, and this commitment played a significant role in our decision to adopt a single turbocharger configuration for the new HI12RT Honda Indy V-6.
The new compressor cover helps to offset the performance disadvantage of the current IndyCar single turbo hardware as measured by INDYCAR's turbo supplier. This correction was designed and provided by the turbo supplier under the direction of IndyCar and was approved prior to the 2012 season.
We look forward to deploying the new compressor cover to optimize performance of the Honda Indy V-6, as we continue to do battle with our worthy adversaries from Lotus and General Motors."
Honda had attempted to implement its turbo updates at Long Beach two weeks ago, only to be denied by INDYCAR before the start of the event weekend. However, the sanctioning body then ruled that they could have their updates in for this weekend's Sao Paulo Indy 300 -- much to the annoyance of Chevy, which filed a protest and set up yesterday's hearing in Indianapolis.
A three-person panel -- which included former Mercedez-Benz engine development head Hans Peter Kollmeier, Indianapolis Motor Speedway board of directors member and attorney Jack Snyder, and another attorney, Jim Voyles -- heard the protest. The decision can be appealed by 5 p.m. ET on the second business day following its release.
Chevrolet has won all three events so far in the 2012 IZOD IndyCar Series season.
According to one report, the new cover is expected to yield an extra 10-15 horsepower. Honda, which uses the single turbo as opposed to Chevy and Lotus' twin turbos, issued the following statement by Steve Eriksen, vice president of its Honda Performance Development group:
"We are gratified that an independent panel has upheld INDYCAR’s ruling of April 18, 2012, which approved use of the 0.74 A/R compressor cover for single-turbocharged engines competing in this year’s IZOD IndyCar Series. INDYCAR committed well in advance of the 2012 IZOD IndyCar Series season to structure engine regulations that would ensure parity in turbocharger performance for both single and twin turbo configurations, and this commitment played a significant role in our decision to adopt a single turbocharger configuration for the new HI12RT Honda Indy V-6.
The new compressor cover helps to offset the performance disadvantage of the current IndyCar single turbo hardware as measured by INDYCAR's turbo supplier. This correction was designed and provided by the turbo supplier under the direction of IndyCar and was approved prior to the 2012 season.
We look forward to deploying the new compressor cover to optimize performance of the Honda Indy V-6, as we continue to do battle with our worthy adversaries from Lotus and General Motors."
Honda had attempted to implement its turbo updates at Long Beach two weeks ago, only to be denied by INDYCAR before the start of the event weekend. However, the sanctioning body then ruled that they could have their updates in for this weekend's Sao Paulo Indy 300 -- much to the annoyance of Chevy, which filed a protest and set up yesterday's hearing in Indianapolis.
A three-person panel -- which included former Mercedez-Benz engine development head Hans Peter Kollmeier, Indianapolis Motor Speedway board of directors member and attorney Jack Snyder, and another attorney, Jim Voyles -- heard the protest. The decision can be appealed by 5 p.m. ET on the second business day following its release.
Chevrolet has won all three events so far in the 2012 IZOD IndyCar Series season.
