Power, Dixon top overall times at IndyCar Barber test
After two days of testing, and watching the times pretty closely, here are some thoughts on the aero kit performance situation in IndyCar is.
Chevrolet is again on top of the speed charts after the second of two days of testing at Barber Motorsports Park in Alabama.
Scott Dixon found himself back on top of the charts today, with three of the four Team Penske drivers taking up the next three spots in Will Power, Helio Castroneves and Simon Pagenaud.
In the combined times, Will Power ran the fastest time of the test with Dixon right behind him.
Surprisingly, IndyCar newcomer Stefano Coletti turned the third fastest time of the two day test.
The kit hasn’t greatly upset a lot of the base knowledge that we have of the car.
James Hinchcliffe
While the American marque has been stealing the top five for much of tesing, Graham Rahal was able to wheel his Honda into the fifth spot to end the final day, which was good enough for 7th over the entire test.
Drivers have been talking about the physical nature of the car, as with the new aero configurations both the Honda and Chevrolet have gained a lot of downforce, but one trend coming from the time sheets is the slight advantage Chevrolet has over Honda.
It doesn't appear to be a large gap, but it was a rare occurance to see Honda on top of the charts during this first two days of testing.
Driving style
James Hinchcliffe, who put his Honda 12th in the overall combined results (which can be downloaded below) says he is happiest with the fast the basic driving characteristics of the car didnt change too much.
"As far as overall driving style we’ve been pretty pleased that the kit hasn’t greatly upset a lot of the base knowledge that we have of the car,” Hinchcliffe told IndyCar.com
“You can be a bit braver in certain corners, but I don’t think I’ve had to revamp what I’ve been doing, which is nice. It’s not like when we went from the IR-03 to the DW12; that was a complete change in driving philosophy for me. This has been a nice progression of more grip, more downforce, more fun."
Download the combined results from the Barber IndyCar test here.
Teams head to NOLA for one more series test before the opening round of practice at St. Petersburg Florida on March 27.
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