Upgrade for free today
You have only 5 articles remaining to view this month.
IndyCar has revealed that two 2018 aerokits will be given to each full-season entry for free, bringing costs down by $180,000 for a two-car team.
The new aerokit currently costs $90,000 and IndyCar has fixed its price until 2020, meaning IndyCar will supply a total of 16 free aerokits to the eight full-time teams for next season.
The series has been working on lowering costs in order to make itself more attractive to new teams and it is believed that several additional interested parties are working to join the grid in 2018.
IndyCar added that the two engine manufacturers, Honda and Chevrolet, have helped make the transition more “economically attractive” along with a grant from the state of Indiana – where Dallara builds the IR12 chassis.
“When IndyCar undertook the process of creating the universal kit that makes our cars sleeker, safer and racier, we also worked hard to make sure it would be cost-effective to our teams,” said Jay Frye, IndyCar president of competition and operations.
Switching the IR12 from the manufacturer designed aerokits to the universal aerokit next year is also believed to be cheaper than expected, and teams have been provided with the plans to convert it.
IndyCar teams will receive the new aerokit this month and team-led testing is set to begin in January.
Honda and Chevrolet have been using their allocated days of testing with Honda working with Schmidt Peterson Motorsports and Ganassi, while Chevrolet has used a car with Penske and Ed Carpenter Racing.
Teams can begin their testing from January 8.