2006 Indy Racing League Testing Schedule & News

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This thread will contain information and news concerning testing for the 2006 IRL IndyCar Series season.

There are a few changes from 2005:

1}The days of private testing are back! Ever since the tragic death of Target/Ganassi Racing's Tony Renna at the Brickyard in Oct. 2003, the series has prohibited private team testing. Those days are gone, as IRL President Brian Barnhart announced today. Under the new rules for 2006, teams will be allowed three days of private testing that can be used anywhere. There is a catch, though; teams with more than one full-time IRL ride will be considered a single "entity" and thus, the total no. of days will actually fall from 12 days to 8 days. Testing days for rookie-orientation will remain as follows. To quote Barnhart....

By allowing our teams to test, we place the value of testing back in the hands of the teams. The teams will have the flexibility to choose when and where they will test, which will maintain the competitive balance of the IndyCar Series as well as allow them to contain the costs of racing by reducing the number of testing days we have in 2006.

2}Teams with an Infiniti Pro Series team will be allowed to use additional testing days to test IPS drivers in an IndyCar Series vehicle, up to a total of three additional days. Teams can have no more than two maximum cars in the IPS. To quote Barnhart....

The bonus testing program benefits the IndyCar Series driver and the Pro Series drivers. The IPS driver gets the opportunity to gain valuable seat time in an IndyCar Series car and get additional feedback from the team.

3}The IRL also announced the open test days for all teams, as follows:
March 1-March 6 at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Homestead, Fla.(2 road course days, 1 oval course day) and June 22 at Richmond International Raceway, Henrico Co., Va.(1 oval course day)

4)Here are the Infiniti Pro Series open test days as well....
March 4 at Homestead-Miami Speedway(road course), March 6 at Homestead(oval), dates TBA at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway(oval and F1 road circuit) and June 14 at The Milwaukee Mile.

5}Finally, there are test days set aside for both HPD and TRD, as well as for both Dallara and Panoz(those days are still TBA)..

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When the checkered flag fell at Fontana back in mid-October, it brought an end to the use of 100% racing-fuel grade methanol, at least for the IRL. On Dec. 7th, the first tests of the "interim" 90-10 fuel mix(90% methanol/10% ethanol) will take place at Homestead-Miami Speedway with drivers Bryan Herta and Buddy Rice participating in the day-long test.

Starting with this test and proceeding through the 2006 IRL IndyCar Series season, the teams will use the 90-10 fuel mixture; in 2007, the series will switch to 100% fuel-grade ethanol, marking the end of methanol-fuel usage(at least for part of the NA motorsports community).

NOTE: Since this test day has been set aside by both Honda & Firestone, the day will not count against either Andretti-Green or Rahal-Letterman's alloted total of test days.

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IRL officials announced today that the IndyCar Series will conduct its' first testing session of the 2006 season at Phoenix Intl. Raceway on 24-25 Jan. for series teams' to participate in. According to senior IRL technical official Les Mactaggart, the test is designed "to allow the teams to familiarize themselves with their equipment. Several teams (are) changing engines' and chassis', and this will give them a chance to evaluate that equipment before the season begins." At least two teams, Marlboro-Team Penske and Target/Ganassi Racing were switching to Honda power(this was announced prior to Toyota's withdrawal from the IRL) and Ganassi had also made plans to run a Dallara chassis for their two cars instead of the Panoz' they had been running.

In addition, Mactaggart noted, the test will allow officials from both the IRL and Honda to evaluate the new 2006-spec Honda H-16R Indy V-8 engines that will be used by all teams in the 2006 season. Mactaggart pointed out that "we're not too sure where we stand in terms of mileage. We have an initial target of 1100 miles between rebuilds and a long-term goal of 2000 miles between rebuilds, so this will help us find out where we are as we continue mileage evaluations." In other words, they're looking to see if the engines are capable of getting through at least three to four race weekends, counting practices, qualifying and the race distances.

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Series officials announced today a change to the testing schedule for 2006. Gone are the open team tests previously scheduled; instead the teams will have three one-day tests, March 28 on the road course at Homestead-Miami Speedway, April 5 on the 2.5-mile oval at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and June 12 at Kansas Speedway. In making the announcement, IRL President Brian Barnhart noted that,

We have revised our testing policy from earlier in the off-season based on the commitment from Honda to seerve as the league's single-engine supplier. This testing format brings more efficiency to the teams, Honda, and the league as we ready ourselves for the 2006 season, the league's first featuring its' compacted schedule.

The remaining test days, Jan.24-25 at Phoenix Intl. Raceway, March 2-5 at Homestead-Miami Speedway and June 22 at Richmond Intl. Raceway are not affected by the testing change. In addition, teams with entries in both the IndyCar and Indy Pro(formerly Infiniti Pro) Series' are allowed extra testing days.

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2006 IRL IndyCar Series rookie driver Marco Andretti, a candidate for the Bombardier Rookie of the Year award, will have his rookie test at Sebring Intl. Raceway on 15-16 Jan., according to series officials. Andretti, son of AOWR legend(and AGR co-owner) Michael Andretti and grandson of American racing scion Mario Andretti, will drive his Dallara/Honda racecar at Sebring as part of his rookie test, which will be supervised by IRL chief tech inspector Kevin Blanch. Blanch noted that,

We'll evaluate how he drives the car, his ability to understand what the car is telling. He'll have to do pitstops. He will have to demonstrate everything that we do in a rookie test.

Currently only two drivers are eliglible for the Bombardier Rookie Award at present: Marco Andretti, and Paul Dana, who has been granted an exemption by series officials to compete for rookie honors in 2006(the reason was that he was injured last year following a practice crash at Indy and was unable to compete for the 2005 award).

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IRL officials announced today that the IndyCar Series will conduct its' first testing session of the 2006 season at Phoenix Intl. Raceway on 24-25 Jan. for series teams' to participate in. According to senior IRL technical official Les Mactaggart, the test is designed "to allow the teams to familiarize themselves with their equipment. Several teams (are) changing engines' and chassis', and this will give them a chance to evaluate that equipment before the season begins." At least two teams, Marlboro-Team Penske and Target/Ganassi Racing were switching to Honda power(this was announced prior to Toyota's withdrawal from the IRL) and Ganassi had also made plans to run a Dallara chassis for their two cars instead of the Panoz' they had been running.

In addition, Mactaggart noted, the test will allow officials from both the IRL and Honda to evaluate the new 2006-spec Honda H-16R Indy V-8 engines that will be used by all teams in the 2006 season. Mactaggart pointed out that "we're not too sure where we stand in terms of mileage. We have an initial target of 1100 miles between rebuilds and a long-term goal of 2000 miles between rebuilds, so this will help us find out where we are as we continue mileage evaluations." In other words, they're looking to see if the engines are capable of getting through at least three to four race weekends, counting practices, qualifying and the race distances.

At least 15 IndyCar series teams will be in Phoenix for the upcoming test; a lot of focus will be on Penske and Ganassi, since they'll be transitioning from Toyota-power to Honda-power. In Ganassi's case, he's also debuing a new Dallara-chassis to go with the new Honda powerplant.

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By all accounts, the general mood was a happy one, as 15 teams took to the track at Phoenix Intl. Raceway to begin a 2-day test, officially opening the 2006 IRL IndyCar Series campaign. 8 teams, from the powerteams of Andretti-Green, Rahal-Letterman and Marlboro-Team Penske, to the smaller ones of Vision and Foyt Racing, fielded cars today, and, as expected, it was the #11 Dallara/Honda of 2004 series winner Tony Kanaan who set the fastest lap of the day, a 20.621 sec./174.621 mph. flyer. Close behind were his AGR stablemate, #7 Bryan Herta, in 3rd, sandwiched around the Penske car of #3 Helio Castroneves. All told, the 15 teams ran a total of 1255 laps around the 1-mile Phoenix oval w/out any major problems. Here are the session results......

1}#11 Tony Kanaan(D/H).................20.616 sec./174.621 mph.(79 of 82)
2}#3 Helio Castroneves(D/H)............20.691 sec./173.990 mph(29 of 73)
3}#7 Bryan Herta(D/H)....................20.734 sec./173.627 mph(80 of 82)
4}#27 Dario Franchitti(D/H)..............20.779 sec./173.249 mph(71 of 72)
5}#6 Sam Hornish, Jr.(D/H)..............20.856 sec./172.616 mph(23 of 96)
6}#10 Dan Wheldon(D/H).................20.865 sec./172.539 mph(70 of 97)
7}#9 Scott Dixon(D/H).....................20.887 sec./172.354 mph(81 of 91)
8}#15 Buddy Rice(P/H)....................21.009 sec./171.353 mph(97 of 99)
9}#16 Danica Patrick(P/H)................21.013 sec./171.318 mph(89 of 91)
10}#8 Scott Sharp(P/H).....................21.014 sec./171.315 mph(31 of 68]
11}#55 Kosuke Matsurra(P/H)............21.059 sec./170.950 mph(41 of 67)
12}#20 Ed Carpenter(D/H)................21.192 sec./169.879 mph(57 of 57)
13}(R)#26 Marco Andretti(D/H)..........21.254 sec./169.377 mph(85 of 99)
14}#14 Felipe Giaffone(D/H)..............21.443 sec./167.885 mph(83 of 83)
15}(R)#17 Paul Dana(P/H).................21.601 sec./166.660 mph(49 of 101)

NOTE 1}() indicates lap when speed/time listed was set out of total laps run
NOTE 2}(D)-Dallara, (P)-Panoz, (H)-Honda

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16 cars took to the track Wednesday as the IRL concluded its' first test session of the 2006 season. The surprise of the day came from the Vision Racing stable, as they had two cars on-track, one for current driver Ed Carpenter, and a second car for veteran driver Tomas Scheckter, formerly of Panther Racing. Although it was only a half-day session for the South African native, he turned a faster session time than regular Carpenter. Although the team is still in the process of picking a second driver, sources say Scheckter is at the top of the list for them. Here are the combined session results, with notes following.......


1}#10 Dan Wheldon(D/H).................20.170 sec./178.483 mph(217)
2}#9 Scott Dixon(D/H).....................20.247 sec./177.802 mph(255)
3}#3 Helio Castroneves(D/H)............20.271 sec./177.596 mph(263)
4}#6 Sam Hornish, Jr.(D/H)..............20.312 sec./177/239 mph(223)
5}#7 Bryan Herta(D/H).....................20.430 sec./176.216 mph(201)
6}#11 Tony Kanaan(D/H)..................20.531 sec./175.342 mph(185)
7}#20T Tomas Scheckter(D/H)..........20.539 sec./175.277 mph(71)
8}#20 Ed Carpenter(D/H)..................20.563 sec./175.073 mph(113)
9}#8 Scott Sharp(P/H)......................20.599 sec./174.760 mph(193)
10}#55 Kosuke Matsurra(P/H)............20.647 sec./174.360 mph(169)
11}#27 Dario Franchitti(D/H).............20.660 sec./174.252 mph(159)
12}#15 Buddy Rice(P/H)...................20.713 sec./173.801 mph(187)
13}#16 Danica Patrick(P/H)...............20.718 sec./173.765 mph(224)
14}(R)#26 Marco Andretti(D/H)..........20.736 sec./173.614 mph(194)
15}#14 Felipe Giaffone(D/H)..............20.883 sec./172.389 mph(220)
16}(R)#17 Paul Dana(P/H).................21.104 sec./170.587 mph(225)

NOTE 1:(no.)--number of laps completed by each driver
NOTE 2:[D]-Dallara, (P)-Panoz, (H)-Honda

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For IRL IndyCar Series rookies Paul Dana and Marco Andretti, it was a successful rookie test earlier this week at Homestead-Miami Speedway. The two drivers competed a couple hundred laps worth of driving under the tutelage of senior tech inspector Kevin Blanch and other series officials. Later on the second day, they were joined by AGR co-owner(and Marco's father), Michael Andretti, who turned laps on the second day in an "re-acclimation" test as he prepares for his one-off at Indy this coming May. For the elder Andretti, he described his tests as a chance to "knock off the rust" of not driving a racecar(his last race was at Indy in 2003). As for both Marco and Dana, they'll get a second crack at Homestead when the series returns March 2-6 for testing on both the 1.5-mile oval and the infield road course.

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This week the IRL IndyCar Series resumes its' testing schedule, as teams travel to Homestead-Miami Speedway for several days of testing, March 2-5. The schedule goes as follows......


March 2-3(road course), 9 am-12 pm & 1:30-4 pm
March 5(oval course), 9 am-12 pm & 1:30-4 pm

Summaries to follow after each day of testing......

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Normally, I'd try to describe what was going on, but I think Foyt Racing's Felipe Giaffone said it best......

The sky is blue, the grass is green, and the track is warm. It's time to go racing again.

The last major open test before the season opener(also at Homestead, albeit on the oval!) began under clear, sunny skies as 18 drivers took to the 2.21-mile Homestead-Miami road course. Fastest after the first day....Marlboro-Team Penske's Helio Castroneves, who set the fastest lap during the second 3-hour session today w/a time of 1:11.015 secs./112.033 mph. Said Spiderman, "We're feeling pretty happy with today's fast session. It's always a good sign when you are at the top of the speed charts. It was good to get out there and get back into a rhythm with the new engine. I'm looking forward to the next two days of testing." Close behind Spiderman were.....teammate Sam Hornish, Jr., Target/Ganassi's duo, Scott Dixon and Dan Wheldon. The big surprise, though, came from Panther Racing; their new driver, Vitor Meira, paced close behind 5th on the timing charts. The fastest AGR driver was 2004 series champion Tony Kanaan(6th), while Buddy Rice was the fastest Rahal-Letterman driver(9th; Patrick-13th and Dana-17th).

All-in-all, the 18 were separated by less than 1.5 secs., a far cry from last year's open test, when the field was separated by almost 2.5 secs. Here is a link to the timing and scoring report for today in case anyone wants to look.... http://209.43.92.201/indycar/scoring/20 ... lts-p1.pdf

Testing continues tomorrow at Homestead....

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It was another productive day of testing for IRL IndyCar Series drivers on the road course at Homestead-Miami Speedway today, and, no one's surprise, Marlboro-Team Penske's Helio Castroneves was the fastest in today's testing; w/a fast time of 1:10.568 secs.(112.742 mph). Close on Spiderman's heels was Target/Ganassi's resident Kiwi, 2003 series champion Scott Dixon, who posted a 1:10.668 sec. flyer(112.584 mph). The next three in line were Castroneves' teammate, Sam Hornish, Jr., at 1:10.846 secs., then Aguri-Fernandez' Scott Sharp(1:10.884 secs.) and AGR's Dario Franchitti at 1:11.061 secs.

Here is the link to to the combined testing times for days 1 & 2....
http://209.43.92.201/indycar/scoring/20 ... -pcomb.pdf

Tomorrow the teams will have a day off, then return to the track for one day of oval testing on Sunday.

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What's that Aerosmith song...."Same old story, same old song and dance...."

That's what it appeared like today as the teams finished their three-day test at Homestead-Miami Speedway, this time on the 1.5-mile variable-banked oval. And it was a former TRD-powered car that led the timing charts; this time, though, it was reigning series champion Dan Wheldon(#10 Target Dallara/Honda) that led w/a time of 24.509 secs.(218.126 mph); in fact, Wheldon's speed was faster than the current track record, set by Buddy Rice in 2004, and that speed was set w/a 3.5-liter Honda V8, not the current 3-liter Honda V8.

Here is the link for the timing and scoring report for today's session....
http://209.43.92.201/indycar/scoring/20 ... lts-p3.pdf

With that, the testing season has concluded; the first race of the season, the Toyota Indy 300, lies ahead, 3 weeks from today.

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In preparation for the upcoming street circuit race in St. Pete., IndyCar Series teams took to the road course at Homestead-Miami Speedway, getting in one more day of road-testing before heading to the Florida Gulf Coast for this weekend's Honda Grand Prix of St. Pete. By all accounts, the two cars from Marlboro-Team Penske led the test session, w/Helio Castroneves setting the fastest lap of the test w/a speed of 112.787 mph.(times were unavailable..... ). Close behind were his teammate, Sam Hornish, Jr., followed by AGR's Bryan Herta. Rounding out the top-5 were the AGR cars of Tony Kanaan and rookie Marco Andretti. 19 cars took to the road course, as veteran road-racer Roberto Moreno sat in the #20 Vision Racing car usually piloted by Ed Carpenter. Team officials were asked by the media during the day whether Moreno would sub for Carpenter at St. Pete; officials declined to confirm those reports.

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It was business as usual at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway as 17 drivers took to the track for a one-day test session prior to departing for Japan and the upcoming Bridgestone Indy Japan 300, and once tire and track temps began to climb.....so did the speeds, as nearly half of the drivers involved today cracked the 223 mph barrier, with the usual suspects, a/k/a Penske, Ganassi and Rahal-Letterman at the top of the scoring pylon. Here are the results from today's open test......

1}Scott Dixon(#9, Target/Ganassi).........................226.012 mph/39.821 sec.
2}Sam Hornish, Jr.(#6, Marlboro-Team Penske).......225.355 mph/39.967 sec.
3}Dan Wheldon(#10, Target/Ganassi)......................224.450 mph/40.098 sec.
4}Danica Patrick(#16, Rahal-Letterman)..................223.867 mph/40.203 sec.
5}Kosuke Matsurra(#55, Aguri-Fernandez)...............223.707 mph/40.232 sec.
6}Helio Castroneves(#3, Marlboro-Team Penske).....223.614 mph/40.248 sec.
7}Eddie Cheever, Jr.(#51, Cheever Racing).............223.367 mph/40.292 sec.
8}Tomas Scheckter(#2, Vision Racing)....................223.343 mph/40.297 sec.
9}Bryan Herta(#7, Andretti-Green).........................222.986 sec./40.361 sec.
10}Scott Sharp(#8, Aguri-Fernandez)......................222.756 mph/40.403 sec.
11}Buddy Rice(#15, Rahal-Letterman).....................222.122 mph/40.518 sec.
12}Vitor Meira(#4, Panther)....................................221.715 mph/40.593 sec
13}Tony Kanaan(#11, Andretti-Green).....................220.917 mph/40.739 sec.
14}Dario Franchitti(#27, Andretti-Green)..................220.379 mph/40.839 sec.
15}Jeff Simmons(R-#17, Rahal-Letterman)..............220.333 mph/40.847 sec.
16}Ed Carpenter(#20, Vision Racing).......................219.624 mph/40.979 sec.
17}Marty Roth(#25, Roth/PDM)...............................215.659 mph/41.733 sec.