IndyCar’s road/street course and short oval aerokit for the 2018 season has officially hit the track, giving us our first look at it in the flesh.
The American single-seater series has been busy testing its superspeedway configuration at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, with Juan Pablo Montoya and Oriol Servia lapping the iconic oval.
But, now, it’s road/street course and short oval aerokit has broken cover during a test at the Mid-Ohio track – where IndyCar was racing last weekend, with Josef Newgarden winning.
Montoya’s been driving the Chevrolet-powered, Penske-run car, with Servia at the wheel of Schmidt Peterson Motorsports’ Honda-engined version.
In case you didn’t know, IndyCar’s two engine manufacturers have different aerokits, but from 2018 a universal aerokit will be used by all of the drivers and teams.
A lot of hype has been built up about the new aerokits, thanks to gradual reveals of renders and official pictures, before it hit the track in public for the first time.
The design of both the road/street course and the superspeedway configurations definitely have a retro, more simplistic vibe. They loosely resemble the low-line IndyCars of the 1990s, for sure.
It still uses the Dallara DW12 chassis, but the new aerokits definitely look much sleeker, more elegant and quicker than the current cars. Plus, those bulky wheel guards are gone. Yay!
The new bodywork generates a whole lot more of its downforce from the underside of the car. They’ll not only make the cars faster, but also improve following distances and make them safer too.
We’re definitely fans, what do you think?
