quarters on the fastest ovals. From a
technical standpoint, the aerodynamic
downforce was massively incremented
compared to the past, while a new
paddle-shift gearbox was also introduced.
All paired with a 450-horsepower engine
with an additional 50-horsepower push to
pass system.
The car's development has been
completed in Varano de' Melegari, but the
production will start at the Dallara
Indycar Factory in Speedway, close to the
famous brickyard. The first tests were
conducted by Conor Daly at Putnam Park
and Mid-Ohio, right after the IndyCar
round, while in the following sessions on
the Indianapolis and Milwaukee ovals,
behind the wheels we've seen also the
2012 Indy Lights champion Tristan
Vautier.
During the celebrations for the new car's
launch, series promoter Dan Anderson
also revealed one of the new pillars of the
"Road to Indy" program. The Indy Lights
Champion will be awarded three races in
the following IndyCar Series season,
including the Indy 500. A key part of this
challenge will be the chance given to
American drivers and teams to test the
cars, tracks and set-up solutions in the
brand-new Dallara Simulator, which was
just launched in Indianapolis. While
waiting for these new additions, the
current season has been led so far by
Gabby Chaves, who brought home four
wins so far. After an hard challenge in
the first few rounds, Zach Veach
progressively lost ground, and now Jack
Harvey has become the Colombian's
closest rival.
More race winners left strong impressions
like Matthew Brabham, nephew of Sir
Jack Brabham, and Luiz Razia: despite
some early struggles, the Brazilian
managed to bring home the popular
Freedom 100. Also, Frenchman Alexandre
Baron put his name at the top of the
charts after moving from Formula Renault
to US F2000 and then Indy Lights. On the
other hand, the Indy Lights races have
always been hard-fought. In 2008, the
series made it to the Guinness World
Records book after Logan Gomez beat
Alex Lloyd by just 0.0005 seconds in the
2007 Chicagoland 100. A gap of 42
millimeters, the tiniest ever recored in a
motor race. As the series gears-up for
2015, the future is ready to provide
similar emotions once again.
13
