http://www.gordonkirby.com/categories/columns/theway/2010/the_way_it_is_no233.html

(Indianapolis, IN) 6 May 2010– BAT Engineering has released to the public the latest renderings for the proposed 2012 IZOD IndyCar design. At the core of BAT Engineering is three of the most successful designers in recent IndyCar history, Bruce Ashmore, Alan Mertens and Tim Wardrop, who will look to return to the winners circle at Indianapolis Motor Speedway with an innovative new IndyCar design once again starting in 2012.

The BAT Engineering design has been formally accepted by the ICONIC board, and brings safety, efficiency, and a focus on developing a new high-technology industry in the Indianapolis area to the forefront of the process with an extensive plan for job creation in Indiana.

See the new renderings here

The BAT Engineering design, which has been formally accepted by the ICONIC board, brings safety, efficiency, and a focus on developing a new high-technology industry in the Indianapolis area to the forefront of the process.

Ashmore, who won races at Long Beach in various capacities ranging from designer, engineer, and technical director, is looking forward to returning to the SoCal environs and walking the track ahead of the cars taking to the streets this weekend. In addition to round three of the 2010 IZOD IndyCar Championship, the event will also feature races from the Firestone Indy Lights, American Le Mans presented by Patron series, Toyota/Celebrity, and World Challenge Series.

“Long Beach is simply a pinnacle event for the IZOD IndyCars,” said Ashmore. “The spectacle and the atmosphere are just fantastic and the track has a little bit of everything. The cars have to make it through what is likely one of the tightest corners in all of motor racing with the Hairpin, and then just seconds later the drivers are flat out along Shoreline Drive. I’m very much looking forward to the weekend.”

Mertens is himself no stranger to the Long Beach, having not only designed the Galmer chassis that won the race in 1992, but also serving as a key part of Al Unser Jr.’s ascendancy as the King of Long Beach as his engineer and race-day strategist. Unser  was inducted into the Long Beach Motorsports Walk of Fame last year. While the weekend will feature many familiar faces for the two long-time open wheel combatants, the event is hardly one for talking about the past.

“Being at the race is a great way for us to keep the conversation going with everyone who is involved with and has a stake in this process,” said Mertens. “This is a very exciting time for the sport, and of course there is no better place to efficiently get feedback and continue to prepare than at a race meeting. Of course, no one needs any kind of excuse to go to Long Beach!”
That the two accomplished designers are revisiting the site where they staged countless battles through the years reflects the intense passion that is shared as the IZOD IndyCar Series prepares for the next chapter in the sports history.

“I’m hoping Alan will finally tell me what they did to beat us so many times there!” joked Ashmore before boarding for Long Beach.

The 36th running of the Toyota Grand Prix will be carried live on Versus Sunday, April 18 starting at 3:30 PM ET.

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New design renderings released for fan review by the Indianapolis 500 winning team for the next IndyCar

2 April  2010

Indianapolis, IN—BAT Engineering and the three Indianapolis 500-winning designers Bruce Ashmore, Alan Mertens and Tim Wardrop have released new design renderings to accompany their bid to build the next IZOD IndyCar for 2012.

First publicly announced in March, the BAT Engineering proposal builds on the experience and innovation that the triumvirate of Ashmore, Mertens, and Wardrop bring to the project, with the three having designed and engineered machines that have travelled thousands of miles at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, as well as tracks around the world.

The BAT Engineering proposal has now been officially recognized by the Indy Racing League, which recently announced the formation of the ICONIC (Innovative, Competitive, Open-Wheel, New, Industry-Relevant, Cost-Effective) IZOD IndyCar Series Advisory Committee to manage and guide the selection process as the future of the sport is charted.

With decades of experience being involved with new-car design and selection processes in a wide variety of racing categories around the globe, the BAT Engineering principals welcomed the news of the ICONIC board.

“The ICONIC Board is exactly what we were hoping for and we are extremely pleased that IndyCar has taken this professional step,” offered Mertens. “The Indy Racing League is doing a great job, and by adding this level of protection for the fans and teams then we are assured that the design chosen will have succeeded the toughest possible process.”

Beyond setting new standards in mechanical grip and aerodynamic efficiency, the core concentrations for the BAT Engineering proposal focus on driver safety, creating a platform that will generate close racing, and a well-developed plan to enable the entire project to be designed, built, and supported using highly skilled American labor within a 30-mile radius of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. 

BAT Engineering has expanded on their plans, developing partnerships with state and local organizations to foster the development of hundreds of new jobs in the Indianapolis area to support the next IZOD IndyCar.

“This level of investment by the teams deserves such a secure process,” said Tim Wardrop. “We are confident that the right design will be chosen, and we certainly feel as though our proposal targets the same ambitions for the future of the IZOD IndyCar Series that the fans, owners, and drivers all have.”

The next IZOD IndyCar will need to meet the exacting demands of a wide group of constituents, from the fans in the stands to the team owners on the pit lane to the mechanics preparing the racers to perform, and meeting those needs is an exciting new challenge as the Indianapolis Motor Speedway prepares for a second century and the next chapter in the sport.

“As part of the process of getting feedback from everyone who has an interest in this new design, I had the opportunity to meet Randy (Bernard,  Indy Racing League CEO), and I have to say that I think he’s exactly the guy that this sport needs to move forward,” said Ashmore. “We have to get this right, the first time, for it to be successful and bring the sport and this race to its rightful place, and we feel that the BAT Engineering design can best do that. We’re excited to bring more renderings to the public, as we’ve been  very pleased with the fan feedback we’ve had so far.”

About BAT Engineering:

Bruce Ashmore
As Chief Designer at Lola, Ashmore was responsible for four consecutive IndyCar championships as well as the 1990 Indianapolis 500-winning car. The latter has been described as possibly the most efficient IndyCar design to date. He went on to become President of Reynard North America as Reynard captured victory in the 1995 and 1996 Indianapolis 500 and totally dominated the CART series during the time when the series experienced the most competitive engineering challenge. 

Ashmore went on to steer several race teams to victory as a technical director, and also continued to design race-winning cars as head of Ashmore Design.

IndyCar Championships-1990, 1991, 1992, 1993 (Lola)
Cart Championship 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001 (Reynard)

Alan Mertens

Alan Mertens was the Chief Designer and Engineer throughout all levels of European Motorsport for March. He gained many successes in both  Formula 3 and Formula 1 before he was selected to head up the design of the very successful March IndyCar series of cars, which gained four Indy pole positions and won five consecutive Indy 500′s from 1983 to 1987, and the IndyCar Championships in 1985 and 1986.

He left to form his own company, Galmer Engineering, and was again successful at the Indianapolis 500. In 1992, Merten’s design won both the Borg Warner Trophy as well as the “Louis Schwitzer Award for Innovation and Engineering/Design Excellence in the Field of Race Car Design.” Mertens has also recently concentrated on designing disaster recovery systems in the Nuclear Power industry.

Indianapolis 500 Wins 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1985, (March)  1992 (Galmer)
Cart Championships 1985, 1986 (March)

Tim Wardrop

Tim Wardrop has been involved with IndyCar and the Indy Racing League since its inception. Wardrop  developed the first two generations of the first dominant chassis in the IRL at G-Force which resulted in two poles at Indy with Arie Luyendyk and two race victories with Luyendyk and Juan Pablo Montoya in his role as their race engineer.
Wardrop still holds the record and the setup parameters for the fastest lap  ever turned at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in practice of 239.260 mph, as well setting the fastest ever single qualifying lap speed (237.298 mph) and four-lap record (236.986 mph).

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For further information contact:
Matt Cleary
Media@sundaymanagement.com
317.908.2975

Three Indianapolis 500 winning designers join the race to build the next IndyCar

For immediate release
5 March  2010

Indianapolis, IN–Three of the most successful designers in recent IndyCar history have joined forces, and will look to return to the winners circle at Indianapolis Motor Speedway with an innovative new IndyCar design once again starting in 2012.

Bruce Ashmore, Alan Mertens and Tim Wardrop announced on Friday the formation of BAT Engineering  (Bruce, Alan, Tim) and will be submitting a comprehensive proposal to the Indy Racing League as the next chapter in IndyCar racing is being written.

The BAT proposal focuses not only on creating a dynamic new competitive platform for the IndyCar Series, but it also brings an extensive plan for job creation in Indiana.

The three designers, each of which have been part of milk-drinking outings at the Indianapolis 500, bring experience, innovation, and extensive research to the process. The opportunity to develop a clean-sheet design was one that all three principals found too exciting to pass up.

The next IndyCar design will bring the next chapter in the sports history by providing a safer environment for the drivers, delivering a compelling on-track racing product for the fans, and pushing the sport forward through a concentration on clean aerodynamics and high-efficiency energy use.

The BAT Engineering design has not only produced a very fast car, but it also provides the strength and structure to allow the drivers to race hard and go wheel to wheel without ending their race early. This close racing and the durability of the car design,  will add to the on-track spectacle and competitive format with more entries making the dash to the checkered flag.

IndyCar is well positioned to introduce a new product and take full advantage of the exciting new shows that the BAT Engineering project car will promote.

The BAT Engineering entry is the right car to help this process, and will serve as the catalyst for re-energizing the motorsports industry that surrounds the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The new design proposal will create new opportunity for the region through the design, build, and support of the next generation IndyCar. BAT Engineering’s proposal will best address each of these targets as the team puts their technical capabilities,  years of experience, and design innovation on display once again.

Following meetings with renowned Indianapolis surgeon, Dr. Terry Trammell and  IndyCar’s  Safety and Technical Directors, Jeff Horton and Les Mactaggart to ensure maximum safety, BAT Engineering started the design process with a core consideration-driver safety.

With the very latest in Computer Aided Design and Computational Fluid Dynamics software to develop the shape and aerodynamics of the new race car,  BAT Engineering is putting technology on their side for the design, and the firm has also made agreements with various software and simulations companies to most efficiently manage the modeling and pre-build testing of the entry long before it hits the pavement.

BAT’s bid is based on a program that would see the design entirely built within a 30-mile radius of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway,  using highly skilled American labor. Further details of the concept, which features strength, protected wheels and stable aerodynamics to ensure close racing, will be announced in the near future.

About BAT Engineering:
Bruce Ashmore

As Chief Designer at Lola, Ashmore was responsible for four consecutive IndyCar championships as well as the 1990 Indianapolis 500-winning car. The latter has been described as possibly the most efficient IndyCar design to date. He went on to become President of Reynard North America as Reynard captured victory in the 1995 and 1996 Indianapolis 500 and totally dominated the CART series during the time when the series experienced the most competitive engineering challenge. Ashmore went on to steer several race teams to victory as a technical director, and also continued to design race-winning cars as head of Ashmore Design.

IndyCar Championships-1990, 1991, 1992, 1993 (Lola)
Cart Championship 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001 (Reynard)
Alan Mertens

Alan Mertens was the Chief Designer and Engineer throughout all levels of European Motorsport for March. He gained many successes in both  Formula 3 and Formula 1 before he was selected to head up the design of the very successful March IndyCar series of cars, which gained four Indy pole positions and won five consecutive Indy 500′s from 1983 to 1987, and the IndyCar Championships in 1985 and 1986.

He left to form his own company, Galmer Engineering, and was again successful at the Indianapolis 500. In 1992, Merten’s design won both the Borg Warner Trophy as well as the “Louis Schwitzer Award for Innovation and Engineering/Design Excellence in the Field of Race Car Design.” Mertens has also recently concentrated on designing disaster recovery systems in the Nuclear Power industry.

Indianapolis 500 Wins 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1985, (March)  1992 (Galmer)
Cart Championships 1985, 1986 (March)

Tim Wardrop

Tim Wardrop has been involved with IndyCar and the Indy Racing League since its inception. Wardrop  developed the first two generations of the first dominant chassis in the IRL at G-Force which resulted in two poles at Indy with Arie Luyendyk and two race victories with Luyendyk and Juan Pablo Montoya in his role as their race engineer.
Wardrop still holds the record and the setup parameters for the fastest lap  ever turned at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in practice of 239.260 mph, as well setting the fastest ever single qualifying lap speed (237.298 mph) and four-lap record (236.986 mph).

-Ends-

For further information contact:
Matt Cleary

Media@sundaymanagement.com
www.sundaymanagement.com
317.908.2975