IndyCar to announced a reduction in testing for 2013
But Bernard said that won’t stop the series from lowering the price of parts sold by Dallara, the chassis company that has a virtually exclusive contract with IndyCar.
“Testing is one way (to lower costs), parts is another," Bernard said. “But lowering the parts cost needs to be in good faith with Dallara."
IndyCar teams previously saved money by making many of their own parts. IndyCar gave Dallara more control of the parts in negotiations that included Dallara establishing a U.S. base in Indianapolis.
The cost of spare parts is one of the issues IndyCar team owners have complained about the most this season.
Bernard said at the recent race at Mid-Ohio that teams spend upwards of $50,000 per test, and there was more testing this year because the DW12 was new. But there haven’t been many car issues this season, and the teams won’t need the same number of tests in 2013.
Also being considered: Combining a test session with a race weekend as to save travel expenses. Some IndyCar teams are at Sonoma Raceway this week for the third time this year. The race isn’t until next weekend. Indy Star
[Editor's Note: IndyCar would be wise to make a provision to allow for more testing if a new team enters the series like Coloni is planning to do next year, or new teams may feel they are at too much of a disadvantage and not come.]
08/16/12 IndyCar is finalizing a testing plan for 2013 that would greatly reduce the number of test days, and in turn, save teams a good chunk of change.
With a new car and engine package for its teams to learn, the IZOD IndyCar Series pressed a rather liberal testing plan into service for the 2012 season, but that’s about to change.
Most single-car teams have amassed at least a dozen test days so far this year, and at the upper end, Ganassi Racing outfit is said to have completed something in the range of 75 days across its four-car fleet, leading the series to pull back on the reigns for 2013.
In addition to reducing the number of test days permitted for each entry, the series is also set to shift how and when many of those tests are administered, which should help to reduce a lot of budgetary waste.
SPEED.com has learned that something approaching a 50 percent reduction in test days is expected next year, and in a conversation with INDYCAR’s Will Phillips on Wednesday, the series’ VP of Technology said it was an easy decision to make.
“With the car being fundamentally the same, possibly aero kits aside, there’s no big mechanical changes to the car coming for next year, so there’s no need to continue at the current level of testing," he remarked. “With the second year for a new car, it becomes significantly easier to reduce testing." More at speed.com