Toyota & Honda Renew Engine Deals Thru 2006

[Tim Northcutt]

The indy Star reported today that Honda and Toyota announced that they have both "rolled over" their engine supplier contracts with the IRL through the 2006 season....

The way the contracts are structured, they were 3 year- deals that carry the annual option to "roll over" another year by adding it onto the end of the expiration date of the current contract...

Chevy has chosen to wait until the end of the season to do so....

Guess Toyota and Honda "don't" want to leave the Series...as some felt they would once the initial contract ran out at the ned of next season...

Yet more good news for the Series...

Keep it coming, boys!!!!


Because we sure love this kind of news as race fans...

[Kicking-back]

Good news, indeed.

[N I Tram]

Great news for racing fans, that Toyota's Nextel Cup entry hasn't lead them to pull out of the IRL. Hopefully Ford/Cosworth will be involved soon enough.

[Tim Northcutt]

Actually, the "Cosworth" side is already involved....

after all, they bailed Chevy's butt out last year with what is now called the "Chevy Gen IV" engine...

The only thing missing is the "Blue Oval" on the valve covers....otherwise, that engine with the "Red Bow Ties" on it is a Ford-Cosworth through and through...

But Ford couldn't be the "Half-Title Sponsor" or CART last year or the OWRS this year as their sole supplier and still be hooked with the IRL as an engine manufacturer....

Many on both sides would have seen that as a conflict of interest...

[Bob Riebe]

Originally posted by Kicking-back
Good news, indeed.

Not really as long as entrants are held hostage to leases.
I am sorry I am pessimistic but Tony Georges hypocrisy annoys me greatly.
Bob

[Tim Northcutt]

Tony George said on Windtunnel back in February that "leases are not mandatory".....


Maybe he mis-spoke...I don't know....

But he said they are not....

[GP Racer]

Originally posted by Bob Riebe
Not really as long as entrants are held hostage to leases.
I am sorry I am pessimistic but Tony Georges hypocrisy annoys me greatly.
Bob

I think TG has proven to be far more clever, resilliant, and just plain smarter, than anyone has given him credit for.

Everyone seems to be looking for someway to get down on him and his series, to find a chink in his armor, but they just can't. Everything is now falling into place, and a stable future is on the horizon. Through all the doom and gloom, and all the naysayers, and negativity, he has managed to take this series from being a laughing-stock, to a world-class open wheel series, that anyone who is anyone, wants to be a part of. TG is rather quiet publically, but its now obvious that he is very busy behind the scenes, and he has his finger squarely on the pulse of open wheel racing. Maybe Gentilozzi should try that tact for awhile.

The plain fact-of-the-matter is, that this is the series everyone is banking there future on now, manufacturers, teams, drivers, sponsors, television, everyone who matters.

I'm ready to give TG his due, he's earned it...

[Bob Riebe]

I have like the IRL fromt he beginning, and the only one who considered it a laughing stock was the press that was in the pocket of the rich owners.

He said he was going to bring it back to its roots, especially the engine formula and until he does I will consider him a hypocrite or at least confused


I doubt the OWRS will survive unless they make major changes which definitely inlcude not being a Formula Ford with tiny little engines that have hair dryers attached for extra boost.
There are other basic ways to slow cars down without making emaculating the engines.
Bob

[Snrub]

I really think GM should quit. They're never going to beat Toyota and Honda so why waste money and reputation trying? I'm sure I'm not the only one who would like to see the guys currently running Chevy's be able to run up front.

As for CART having tiny engines and being a lesser series for having one engine supplier:
1. IRL is 3.0L, F1 is 3.0L, CART is 2.65L. If CART has tiny engines what are the IRL engine? (I do realize that you critisized the IRL forumla as well) I wonder how much HP a slightly modified for n/a purposes CART engine running at the old 16K rev limit would produce compared to a IRL 3.0L 10.7k rev limited engine?
2. Why is the racing worse with one engine? There are no artificial power differences preventing drivers from being on a more equal footing?

[GP Racer]

Originally posted by Snrub
I really think GM should quit. They're never going to beat Toyota and Honda so why waste money and reputation trying? I'm sure I'm not the only one who would like to see the guys currently running Chevy's be able to run up front.

As for CART having tiny engines and being a lesser series for having one engine supplier:
1. IRL is 3.0L, F1 is 3.0L, CART is 2.65L. If CART has tiny engines what are the IRL engine? (I do realize that you critisized the IRL forumla as well) I wonder how much HP a slightly modified for n/a purposes CART engine running at the old 16K rev limit would produce compared to a IRL 3.0L 10.7k rev limited engine?
2. Why is the racing worse with one engine? There are no artificial power differences preventing drivers from being on a more equal footing?

No way should GM quit IMO Snrub. They have been the sole engine provider for some years, and to walk away after your competition shows up, would send a terrible message to the automotive world. The way I see it, GM has been challenged and they need to meet that challenge head on. They need to become competitive again, and if they put some money and development into it, I'm quite sure they can do it.

Thats why multiple manufacturers are good for racing. They push each other, each knowing how important winning is. Plus, it gives racing fans another element to root for. Not only do you have drivers and chassis to root for but engine makers to.

As for engine sizes, I don't really care, and I would guess most race fans don't either.

[Tim Northcutt]

Originally posted by Snrub

I wonder how much HP a slightly modified for n/a purposes CART engine running at the old 16K rev limit would produce compared to a IRL 3.0L 10.7k rev limited engine?

This I can tell you, Snrub....

There is a normally-aspirated verson of the Cosworth CART engine that has been upped in displacement to 3.3 Liters that is known as a Nicholson-McLaren engine...they have dubbed the engine the KV675...

It is used in endurance sportscar racing....

It does run with air intake restrictors (I could look up the size diameter for you if you wish, but I'm not sure what it is off the top of my head...)

It has about 550 horsepower....not sure what the red line is on it, either, but most sportscar engines of that size and configuration usually run somewhere between 10,500 and 12,500 rpm.

With the 16 K rpm, they might get to the current IRL level of 600-625 horsepower that the 3.0 L engine now gets....

[climb]

Good news, (oh well, not very good for those IRL bashers who were sure, just some weeks ago that Toyota would have quit ) it secures the league a horizon of high-level competition.
I do hope GM will remain, but only at the condition of being able to provide really competitive engines.

[Kicking-back]

The GM Chevy can't be too far away - Alex Barron made it from last to third at the weekend.

[climb]

Yes, but, up to now, they never seemed really able to win.
It still takes some more.

[Bob Riebe]

A sad, to me anyway, thing is; when Tony George started the IRL and spoke loudly of "stockblocks" Audi, BMW and Maserati were all reported to be considering entering, as they all had prod. engines that would work.
Now we have emanciated specialty engines that no fan can make an analogy with street engines with.
That is not a good thing.

I do hope a Chevy driver wins one so the actual Chevy engineering dept. takes another shot at building a Chevy-Chevy.
Bob