Today was the first day of the Open Test down at Barber Motorsports Park in Alabama, but it appears that fans are more taken with a possible new entry into the 2012 IndyCar chassis battle.
Dubbed the BAT project, this chassis is the work of veteran open-wheel car designers Bruce Ashmore, Alan Mertens, and Tim Wardrop. A Tuesday web article from Racecar Engineering provides details on the yet-to-be-unveiled machine, which appears set to have its major focus on driver safety. According to the RE piece, the BAT car has protected wheels to stop interlocking between cars and attempts to have “the safest cockpit available.” Also, it derives its downforce more from “stable center body profiles” instead of the usual front and rear wings.
The resumes alone for Ashmore, Mertens and Wardrop ensure that this machine is something to watch out for. For more recent fans, Wardrop is arguably the most recognizable of the trio as he prepared the car that set the fastest lap in Indianapolis Motor Speedway history — Arie Luyendyk’s 237.498 miles per hour blitz around the Brickyard in 1996. But Ashmore and Mertens also have stellar backgrounds, which you can read up on in the linked article.
These three hold a lot of knowledge about creating race cars — winning race cars, at that. Keep an eye on this one…
