{"id":32942,"date":"2024-07-04T09:23:03","date_gmt":"2024-07-04T13:23:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/?p=32942"},"modified":"2024-07-04T09:23:03","modified_gmt":"2024-07-04T13:23:03","slug":"e-indycar-chevy-honda-hybrid-race-engines-debut-at-mid-ohio","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/2024\/07\/e-indycar-chevy-honda-hybrid-race-engines-debut-at-mid-ohio","title":{"rendered":"e-IndyCar: Chevy-Honda hybrid race engines debut at Mid-Ohio"},"content":{"rendered":"

Behind the intense competition of professional racing, motorsports is a showcase for automakers\u2019 technology and marketing trends.<\/p>\n

This weekend at the IndyCar 200 at Mid-Ohio race course near Lexington, IndyCar will become the latest racing series to move to hybrid powertrains following Formula One and the MSA SportsCar Championship.<\/p>\n

The move is a priority for the series\u2019 two engine suppliers, Chevrolet and Honda. The two brands have been among the most aggressive automakers in pushing electrification \u2014 and they want the IndyCar racing teams they supply to reflect that ambition. At a time when the industry is under historic pressure from governments to adopt battery power, electrification initiatives also help insulate motorsports from political pressure.<\/p>\n

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Josef Newgarden at speed in the new hybrid IndyCar. Matt Fraver, IndyCar<\/em><\/div>\n

While both Chevrolet and Honda promise fully electric model lines by 2040, the move to hybrid IndyCar drivetrains dovetails with current production trends. Manufacturers and their government partners oversold EV adoption and are pivoting to gas-electric power plants as a more realistic market solution.<\/p>\n

Similarly, North American racing series do not see EV racing as ready for prime time.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe certainly have no aspirations of being a fully electric series. We’re fast, loud and authentic,\u201d said IndyCar President Jay Frye in an interview ahead of the IndyCar 200. \u201cThis is something that is very relevant . . . in passenger cars. We think the hybrid program is the way to go into the future. I certainly don’t see IndyCar becoming a full EV series.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The new, hybrid Chevy IndyCar engine. Matt Fraver, IndyCar<\/em><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

IndyCar\u2019s hybrid focus dovetails with Formula One and IMSA, which have also moved towards hybrid drivetrains \u2014 but ultimately see synthetic fuels as the answer to internal sustainability goals requiring zero-carbon emission machines. As governments force manufacturers to zero-emission vehicles, automakers hope synfuels development in racing will become a viable commercial alternative to power a new generation on internal combustion engines.<\/p>\n

\u201cLook at the manufacturers and what\u2019s important to them: electrification and hybrids,\u201d said President Bud Denker of Penske Corporation, which owns IndyCar. \u201cIt\u2019s important for us also to be sustainable from a series standpoint. We were the first series in North America to have renewable fuel \u2014 an ethanol, bio-based product.\u201d<\/p>\n

Formula One, too, sees renewable fuel as its future, targeting synfuels for use in its 50-50 gas-electric hybrid missiles in 2026.<\/p>\n