After having had a lot of announcements made in the last weeks regarding the pairing of IndyCar teams with a specific engine manufacturers, Auto123.com wants to pause and look at the situation right now.
Let us start with Honda; the Japanese manufacturer having been the sole supplier of engines in recent years thus, allowing the series to be able to rely on a good as well as a truly reliant engine.
Honda has officially confirmed so far that it will supply engines to the following squads:
• Chip Ganassi Racing will be of course the central team for Honda and it will be back with four cars in 2012
• Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing will be back as a full-fledge team for 2012 as it recently announced that it would have two cars on the starting grid.
• A.J. Foyt Racing is another example, as is Dale Coyne Racing, that commitment is still a valuable commodity as it will be back for another year with long-time sponsor ABC Supply.
• Sam Schmidt Motorsports, which had some strong showings last year, thanks in good part to Alex Tagliani, should have probably one, or even a two-car effort next season.
We know for sure that Honda has already signed another team and that negotiation with another one is on the verge of becoming a reality. In any case should any future announcements will be made in December.
Chevrolet’s comeback has been quite a boost for the North American open-wheel scene and its close-knit association with Roger Penske his giving the engine manufacturer quite a solid basis for its future endeavours as well as for the others confirmed Chevy teams:
• Team Penske will try and regain the upper hand over Chip Ganassi with the help of GM and its three-car effort.
• KV Racing Technogy has relinquished its sponsorship with Lotus to go along with General Motors. The Kalkhoven-Vasser team will be back with three cars.
• Andretti Autosport, which has had its ups and downs in recent years, is sure to put two cars on the grid but its target remains four.
• Panther Racing was a Chevy team back in the good ol’ days with Sam Hornish Jr as it will try to rekindle with success with one or even two full-time cars.
According to some sources, another Chevrolet-motorised team could be revealed before the end of the year.
Lotus was the last of the engine manufacturers to confirm any association with IndyCar teams but when it did, it welcomed three teams at the same press conference:
• Bryan Herta Autosport will try to get the most out of the time spent on the track developing and testing the new Dallara DW12 with the late Dan Wheldon.
• Dreyer & Reinbold Racing is planning on having two cars and will be another full-backed Lotus team
• Lotus /HVM Racing will have a major role in preparing the Lotus-Judd engine for 2012 and owner Keith Wiggins is working hard to have a second car at the season’s opener.
• Michael Shank Racing was actually the first team to commit to Lotus and it will have the difficult task of starting its new Indycar program with a brand new chassis and a brand new engine.
Let us start with Honda; the Japanese manufacturer having been the sole supplier of engines in recent years thus, allowing the series to be able to rely on a good as well as a truly reliant engine.
Honda engine within the new Dallara DW12 chassis. (Photo: IndyCar) |
Honda has officially confirmed so far that it will supply engines to the following squads:
• Chip Ganassi Racing will be of course the central team for Honda and it will be back with four cars in 2012
• Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing will be back as a full-fledge team for 2012 as it recently announced that it would have two cars on the starting grid.
• A.J. Foyt Racing is another example, as is Dale Coyne Racing, that commitment is still a valuable commodity as it will be back for another year with long-time sponsor ABC Supply.
• Sam Schmidt Motorsports, which had some strong showings last year, thanks in good part to Alex Tagliani, should have probably one, or even a two-car effort next season.
We know for sure that Honda has already signed another team and that negotiation with another one is on the verge of becoming a reality. In any case should any future announcements will be made in December.
Chevrolet’s comeback has been quite a boost for the North American open-wheel scene and its close-knit association with Roger Penske his giving the engine manufacturer quite a solid basis for its future endeavours as well as for the others confirmed Chevy teams:
• Team Penske will try and regain the upper hand over Chip Ganassi with the help of GM and its three-car effort.
• KV Racing Technogy has relinquished its sponsorship with Lotus to go along with General Motors. The Kalkhoven-Vasser team will be back with three cars.
• Andretti Autosport, which has had its ups and downs in recent years, is sure to put two cars on the grid but its target remains four.
• Panther Racing was a Chevy team back in the good ol’ days with Sam Hornish Jr as it will try to rekindle with success with one or even two full-time cars.
According to some sources, another Chevrolet-motorised team could be revealed before the end of the year.
Lotus engine for IndyCar. (Photo: Lotus) |
Lotus was the last of the engine manufacturers to confirm any association with IndyCar teams but when it did, it welcomed three teams at the same press conference:
• Bryan Herta Autosport will try to get the most out of the time spent on the track developing and testing the new Dallara DW12 with the late Dan Wheldon.
• Dreyer & Reinbold Racing is planning on having two cars and will be another full-backed Lotus team
• Lotus /HVM Racing will have a major role in preparing the Lotus-Judd engine for 2012 and owner Keith Wiggins is working hard to have a second car at the season’s opener.
• Michael Shank Racing was actually the first team to commit to Lotus and it will have the difficult task of starting its new Indycar program with a brand new chassis and a brand new engine.