From indycar.com
Indianapolis 500 pole sitter, Brazilian Helio Castroneves of Team Penske knows that the Honda overtake assist will play a factor in the outcome of the race this Sunday. He just doesn’t know how yet.
The system, which was introduced at Kentucky Speedway last August, provides a 200 rpm and extra power (5-20 horsepower) boost for a prescribed time limit on all racetracks via a button on the steering wheel designed to complete a pass or defend one.
For the Indy 500, Honda Performance Development has set the duration at 18 seconds for each of the 15 activations. There’s a 10-second reset time between activations.
“You’ll want to wait for the right time to use it, and it will play a lot into the strategy because it will be hard to decide when to use it,” said Castroneves, seeking to become the fourth four-time Indy 500 winner.
“If there’s a yellow flag with 10 laps to go and you don’t have enough push to pass compared to some of your closest rivals, you might be in big trouble.
The Honda overtake assist is one element new to the ‘500’ this year. About 15 pounds of drag was removed by repositioning the rain light on the Indy cars along with other aerodynamic alterations that create less turbulent air for a car following another.
“When you have such long straightaways, I do feel it's going to affect the racing quite a lot,” Castroneves said.
Drivers will receive a preview of the power boost during the 60-minute practice on Friday’s Miller Lite Carb Day at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Indianapolis 500 pole sitter, Brazilian Helio Castroneves of Team Penske knows that the Honda overtake assist will play a factor in the outcome of the race this Sunday. He just doesn’t know how yet.
The system, which was introduced at Kentucky Speedway last August, provides a 200 rpm and extra power (5-20 horsepower) boost for a prescribed time limit on all racetracks via a button on the steering wheel designed to complete a pass or defend one.
For the Indy 500, Honda Performance Development has set the duration at 18 seconds for each of the 15 activations. There’s a 10-second reset time between activations.
“You’ll want to wait for the right time to use it, and it will play a lot into the strategy because it will be hard to decide when to use it,” said Castroneves, seeking to become the fourth four-time Indy 500 winner.
“If there’s a yellow flag with 10 laps to go and you don’t have enough push to pass compared to some of your closest rivals, you might be in big trouble.
The Honda overtake assist is one element new to the ‘500’ this year. About 15 pounds of drag was removed by repositioning the rain light on the Indy cars along with other aerodynamic alterations that create less turbulent air for a car following another.
“When you have such long straightaways, I do feel it's going to affect the racing quite a lot,” Castroneves said.
Drivers will receive a preview of the power boost during the 60-minute practice on Friday’s Miller Lite Carb Day at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.