Successful debut for Red Bull’s Aeroscreen in IndyCar

Red Bull has developed an Aeroscreen to protect the heads of drivers in single-seaters. This technology, meant to rival the Halo, has been tested on IndyCar single-seaters. Scott Dixon (Chip Ganassi) and Will Power (Penske) showed positive feedback after covering 600 miles (965 km) on Tuesday at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

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It’s a new era beginning for IndyCar: after introducing the AFP this year, IndyCar will introduce next year the Aeroscreen developed by Red Bull to improve driver head protection (especially following the tragic deaths of Dan Wheldon in Las Vegas 2011 and Justin Wilson at Pocono in 2015).

In order for the drivers to get used to this new system, which includes a windshield reinforced by a halo inside it, IndyCar has scheduled four tests this fall: at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway with Scott Dixon and Will Power (this Tuesday), at the Barber road course with Simon Pagenaud and Ryan Hunter-Reay (next Monday), at the Richmond oval with Scott Dixon and Josef Newgarden (Tuesday, October 15), and at the Sebring short track with Sébastien Bourdais and James Hinchcliffe (November 5).

Scott Dixon (Chip Ganassi Racing) and Will Power (Team Penske) were invited this Tuesday to test this new device. The two drivers covered about 600 miles (965 km) yesterday on the legendary oval, which is 100 miles more than the flagship event of the championship, the Indianapolis 500. The goal was to run the drivers at high speeds to test the windshield reflections, distortions, and the behavior of the titanium structure.

Scott Dixon stated that he could finally hear his radio and that there was much less load on the helmet. Additionally, he added that there was no visibility issue but that the area with the tear-offs would be slightly modified to make visibility even better. Finally, he stated that having the head less exposed made him feel like being inside a road car because there was much less wind noise.

Will Power went even further by stating that he could drive with the Aeroscreen as early as this weekend and that from now on, driving without the Aeroscreen would feel like being naked. Nevertheless, he also noted that the car with the Aeroscreen was a bit more affected by crosswinds than the car without the Aeroscreen.

Regarding the entry and exit of the cockpit, the drivers expressed differing opinions: for Dixon, it was more difficult to enter than to exit, while for Power, it was the opposite. But they agreed on one point: that the times for exiting and entering the cockpit would decrease as the season progresses and the drivers become accustomed to this new setup.

The next Aeroscreen test will take place next Monday on the Barber road course with Simon Pagenaud and Ryan Hunter-Reay in action.

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