IndyCar removes push-to-pass delay for 2013 season

UPDATE Standardized push-to-pass parameters are among the engineering updates incorporated into the 2013 IZOD IndyCar Series rulebook.

Push-to-pass, which was introduced to the new engine-chassis package last July on the streets of Toronto, will have parameters for each of the road/street course events, including doubleheader races at Detroit, Toronto and Houston. The option gives drivers a turbocharger boost from 21.7 Psi to 23.2 Psi and additional 200 RPM with the push of a button located on the steering wheel.

There's no delay in activation or refresh time.

"If the driver chooses to use one, they can't cancel it. It's use it or lose it," INDYCAR vice president of technology Will Phillips said. "That in itself makes it more difficult to choose to use as a defense mechanism rather than as an overtaking opportunity. You'll have to be careful because there are only 10 opportunities to use it during a race. The length of each push of the button should cover the longest straight, if that's where they choose to use it, of each circuit."

For the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, drivers will be allowed 10 pushes for a 15-second duration or 150 seconds of total time.

03/19/13 IndyCar has removed the activation delay of its push-to-pass system as part of new standardized rules for 2013.

The series re-introduced the system at Toronto last year but tweaked the activation delay as the season progressed.

Under new rules the system will now be instantaneous, although the length of each boost will fluctuate between each road or street course.

For the St Petersburg season-opener, as well as Detroit, Sonoma, Baltimore and Houston, drivers will be able to use a total of 150 seconds of boost, split between 10 bursts.

That will be increased to 20s of boost – again with 10 bursts available – for Barber, Long Beach, Sao Paulo, Toronto and Mid-Ohio.

IndyCar vice president of technology Will Phillips said the changes reflected the layout of each track.

"The length of each push of the button should cover the longest straight, if that's where they choose to use it, of each circuit," he said.

"You'll have to be careful because there are only 10 opportunities to use it during a race.

"If the driver chooses to use one, they can't cancel it.

"That in itself makes it more difficult to choose to use as a defense mechanism rather than as an overtaking opportunity. It's use it or lose it"