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Editor's
Note: This letter was written by a fan of CART's and
sent to CART management for consideration. Mr. Kleine
asked that we publish it. The opinions published here are that
of the author, and may not be entirely shared by
AutoRacing1.com, but they certainly are worthy of
consideration.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
May I have your attention about two subjects that I think are important
for CART's future. Actually it's just one subject that leads to the
other. This is not the first time I express my thoughts to CART, but
since there has been no reaction in the past, I want to try again and
tell you what I think about CART's decision on the new engine formula
from a fan's point of view. I really do think that a lot of other fans see it my way, too.
I have been following the new engine formula discussion for several
months and reading all the rumors of CART may or may not switch to a
naturally aspired engines, I don't see why a possible switch could have
ever become an issue. For myself, CART was always something special for their tech specs. I
can't believe that CART wants to turn into another Formula John Deere
(IRL). It is quite clear that a possible switch to n/a engines would not lead towards a reconciliation of CART and IRL. It's not even sure you could
use the same engine block for both series to reduce development costs.
The talk is about a 3.25 liter engine, which in my opinion would be way
too powerful. The talk was about reducing and controlling speeds.
With such an engine CART would be at or even above the power of their
current CART engine (remember TMS), maybe not right away, but very soon.
Not too far back there was talk that CART should stick with the turbo,
possibly a 1.8 liter engine. I think that this would make a lot of
sense. Every current CART engine manufacturer has lots experience with
the turbos. Downsize the engines and there you are. You could control
speeds through the boost. With the n/a engine the manufacturers would
have to design engines with a smaller displacement every two to three
years to keep the speeds under control. (Talk about cost reduction.)
I have talked to people from Honda at Eurospeedway and they like to keep
the turbos. I don't see why Ford should be of a different opinion. Why
does everybody care about Toyota so much? If they want to go IRL, let
them go.
Toyota came to CART, with PPI and AAR as their development teams. At
that time, Toyota engines blew up in dozens. Once they had a reliable
engine, they dropped PPI and AAR forcing them to shut down their CART
operations.
Now Toyota puts pressure on CART about the new engine formula and CART
is about to give in. I think CART, the board of directors and the team
owners together with the engine manufacturers should decide on the new
formula. I bet the majority would stick with the turbos. Why fix it if
it ain't broke?
With one (Audi) or maybe even two (Maserati?) new engine manufacturers
interested in CART, one could afford to lose Toyota.
The other important subject is the shape of a
Champ Car. A Champ Car is recognized by its unique and elegant body shape and design
and looks much better than a F1 or IRL car. Cart would be very wise not to change this.
While I hope that CART will stick with the turbos, I have also thought
about the options of how a Champ Car could look like with a n/a engine
without messing with that beautiful car shape.
Current shape of a
Champ Car
ChampCars are recognized by their unique body shape and design!
2
alternatives on how Champ Cars could look with N/A engines
Area on the engine cover which is made of a material that is permeable to air.
Small Airbox that is only as high as the rollover hoop and does not interfere with the overall elegant shape.
Worst Example of how a ChampCar could look like with N/A engines
Conclusion: One of the issues of the new engine formula is about reducing horsepower i.e. speed. In that case there is no need for an IRL / F1 like air intake. If you have an F1 like ram air effect, speeds will be up where they are right now in no time. Just compare the Lola F3000 and Indy Lights chassis. Indy Lights
do not have air-boxes either. CART has the power to influence chassis design through their rulebook and should do so.
I hope that this letter will motivate everybody involved to think about their points of view on the subject again and maybe listen to their fans, at least
this time.
Best Regards,
R. Kleine
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