It was unplanned, but nonetheless fitting, that 2014 Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires champion Belardi Auto Racing was the first team to take delivery Nov. 14 of the Dallara IL-15 chassis.
The initial 10-car shipment from Dallara Automobili’s U.S. headquarters in Speedway, Ind., will be completed by the end of next week, with the inaugural on-track session scheduled for Dec. 16-17 Palm Beach International Raceway.
Dallara IL-15 Delivery“Every time we deliver a new car is special for Dallara because we were able to accomplish another target,” said Stefano de Ponti, Dallara USA CEO and general manager. “The car has proven through much testing to be competitive and reliable and good looking. Indy Lights, I’m personally convinced, will be a very successful championship series next year.”
The monocoque is produced in Italy, while components such as the suspension are manufactured in Indiana. The 2-liter, turbocharged 4-cylinder AER engine producing 450 horsepower will be delivered separately to teams.
The introduction of the car for 2015 aligns with the 30th anniversary of Indy Lights competition. The car includes paddle shifting and push to pass capability for competitors.
Safety was at the forefront of design, and the car mirrors the Verizon IndyCar Series car supplied by Dallara with full-length anti-intrusion panels, side-mounted radiators to assist in energy absorption, a raised monocoque to protect the driver’s head, a front wing span to reduce wheel-to-wheel contact and increased underwing width to also reduce wheel-to-wheel contact. The driver’s seat fits the Indy Lights and Verizon IndyCar Series chassis.
“Racing is an engineering sport and there’s always something new to learn and apply to the future generation cars,” de Ponti added. “The Indy Lights car is a classic example because we were able to implement all the safety components that were designed for the (Verizon) IndyCar Series car, so the drivers and teams will benefit.”
Additional preseason testing is scheduled Jan. 26-27, 2015, on the Homestead-Miami Speedway road course, Jan. 29 on the facility’s 1.5-mile oval, Feb. 18 at NOLA Motorsports Park and Feb. 24 at Barber Motorsports Park.
The season opens March 28-29 with two races on the streets of St. Petersburg, Fla., in conjunction with the Verizon IndyCar Series’ Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg that will be telecast on ABC (3 p.m. ET March 28).
