Upgrade for free today
You have only 5 articles remaining to view this month.
IndyCar will trial its first attempt at a cockpit protection system by fitting a windscreen to the 2018 car at the Phoenix open test next week.
Chip Ganassi Racing’s Scott Dixon will test the device during the rookie oval testing day next Thursday, and he is expected to be on track late afternoon.
IndyCar is planning to simulate the conditions of full sun, dusk and night conditions in order to see how much the windscreen will impact driver visibility.
The series has always favoured the windscreen concept over Formula 1’s halo system due to expected visibility issues on ovals in particular, and the 2018 car package was created with a future cockpit protection device in mind.
“This has been a long process, one that’s been very methodical and purposeful,” IndyCar president of competition and operations Jay Frye.
“We have been striving to create a safety piece that aesthetically looks good and works in all conditions, and this is a test of those things.
“Any piece we put on an Indycar must work for multiple types of venues and different lighting conditions. It has to be versatile.”
The prototype has been tested in Dallara’s windtunnel and racing simulator with new Harding Racing driver Gabby Chaves.
IndyCar has stressed that it has not yet decided when the series will adapt a cockpit protection system.
“We’ve tested this at Dallara’s simulator, but this will be the first time it has been on a car at speed,” said Frye. “So, this is just the next step in the process.”