IndyCar to replace Brembo? (Update)

UPDATE "We tried three different manufacturers, Brembo and another two, and I found something I was really happy with and consistent that was up to the standard IndyCar was looking for," Tony Kanaan told RACER. "Hopefully they will go that direction."

Based on feedback from multiple sources, it's believed PFC's braking solution provided the performance and consistency that IndyCar drivers have been seeking since the DW12's introduction. The brake vendor evaluation was part of a larger agenda by IndyCar that includes possible changes to the use of aero kits, added cockpit safety measures and other technical developments that would carry the series into the next decade. Racer.com

07/06/16 Performance Friction has become clear favorite to replace Brembo as spec brake supplier for IndyCar from next year according to David Malsher of Motorsport.com.

Motorsport.com has learned that Chip Ganassi Racing, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing and Andretti Autosport tried brakes from alternative suppliers — along with a revised Brembo setup — in the Road America test in June. As a result of this test, Performance Friction Corporation has emerged as a favorite.

The brake evaluation which was blind — as in the drivers weren't made aware beforehand which manufacturers' brakes they were testing — followed long-standing complaints about heat consistency issues with Brembo’s current package.

Bill Pappas, VP of competition and race engineering, told Motorsport.com: "Nothing has been finalized yet. We tested three manufacturers — Brembo obviously, Performance Friction, and a third company which… I don’t think there’s a need to bring them up."

Explaining the search for a new brake supply, Pappas said: "Brakes have been such a source of headaches so we need to find something to alleviate the consistency issues that the teams have had through the last four-and-a-half years.

"We’re not looking for a performance change. We just need something the guys can bolt on and know that it will be the same leaving Long Beach and arriving at Barber or however the schedule is constructed. We’re trying to make it more consistent for the drivers and more cost-effective for the teams."

Pappas said that in the switchover the brakes would remain both spec and single-source, and that the series would be "trying to keep the costs as close to the current costs as possible."

Although Pappas added that he hasn’t closed the door on Brembo and is "still evaluating various options," he did state: "Performance Friction pitched for the initial contract for the DW12 and for whatever reason, IndyCar went with Brembo. But PFC rate very highly in terms of quality and in the 20-something years I’ve known them, they deliver what they say they can deliver.

He added: "For the sake of the series I want everyone to have the same equipment. We don’t want brakes affecting performance from one car to the next." David Malsher/Motorsport.com