Engine Trouble
The IRL has announced thats its usual three year engine cycle will be delayed. It comes to no surprise that economic trouble is to blame.
Honda has been the primary source of horsepower for the IRL since 2006.
League officials have not announced the specs for the new engine design. However, several new ideas are being thought of in order to benefit the league as a whole when it comes to financial trouble.
The league has thought to replace the V8 engine with four cylinders to cut back on fuel mileage and the purchase of ethanol. Stretching out engine agreements to lower costs on research. Also the addition of turbo engines. This would enable teams have better control of power on different type of courses. This would lower the amount of funds put towards redesigning engines for the different types of courses the IRL has.
Five automotive manufacturers including Audi, Fiat, Honda, Porsche and Volkswagen have showed interest in making engines for the IRL in the neat future.
“The fact that we’ve got five [engine manufacturers] involved in this global economy, I think, speaks volumes about the interest in the IndyCar series,” IRL president of competition Brian Barnhart said. “We’re not going to get all five of them, but if we get two, to go along with Honda, we’d be thrilled.”
This is an excellent move for the IRL. With no increase in sight when it comes to finances, it makes sense to level out rather than hitting rock bottom and wondering what happened in the first place.
