Testing regulations announced for 2017 Verizon IndyCar Series season
INDYCAR will conduct the following open tests next year: Feb. 10-11 at Phoenix International Raceway; March 21 at Barber Motorsports Park; May 2 at Gateway Motorsports Park and Sept. 14 at Sonoma Raceway – the same week as the season finale in 2017.
"We collaborated with all of our teams on the 2017 testing regulations with the goal of minimizing the amount of in-season testing," said Jay Frye, INDYCAR president of competition and operations. "The majority of testing will take place at a series of open tests, which have been strategically routed to coincide with our race schedule. As we finalized our regulations, the focus was on making our test schedule more efficient and minimizing the overall demands on the crews during the year. We're confident that this is a positive step forward for the Verizon IndyCar Series."
The in-season testing window runs from April 11-Sept. 17, 2017, with teams permitted one test day – in addition to open tests – within that time frame. The off-season testing window for the 2017 Verizon IndyCar Series season begins Oct. 3, 2016, with teams permitted three test days from the start of the testing window until April 6, 2017 – which allows teams to utilize the break between the season-opening Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg (March 12) and the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach (April 9).
Teams may earn additional test days by running a rookie driver (up to four days) for the season, a current Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires driver (one day) or operating an Indy Lights team under the same ownership as the Verizon IndyCar Series team (one day). New teams entering the Verizon IndyCar Series would be allowed up to four additional test days.
Tire testing comes at the request of Firestone, the official tire supplier to the Verizon IndyCar Series. Any tire test is limited to two days, either in-season or off-season, with no more than two teams participating. All teams are permitted to have one car conduct team testing during an in-season tire test. Engine testing for Chevrolet and Honda is limited to two days for each manufacturer in the off-season window.