The IndyCar Series is making some changes to how they do things at Barber Motorsports Park. They want to see more action during practice sessions, so they’re mixing things up a bit. Instead of sitting around conserving tires, teams will be hitting the track more.
The first practice session on Fridays will now be 40 minutes instead of 45. And in the second part of the session, instead of splitting the field into two groups for 10 minutes each, they’ll have 12 minutes per segment. This should help reduce congestion and give drivers more time to do qualifying simulations on the faster alternate tires.
Teams were told about these changes in a meeting on Tuesday. There was talk about possibly requiring drivers to do more laps on different tires at the upcoming Indianapolis Grand Prix, but that didn’t come up in the meeting.
I’m not really sure why this matters, but the series wanted drivers to do two laps on primary and alternate tires, twice as much as before. People weren’t too excited about this idea when it was first brought up, so who knows if it’ll come back up at the Indy GP.
The IndyCar Series is trying to shake things up at Barber Motorsports Park by tweaking the practice format. The changes were announced during a meeting on Tuesday, where team managers were informed about the new structure for the opening road and street course practice sessions. The goal is to see more running during these sessions and less time spent sitting idle on pit lane.
Under the new format, the first phase of the practice session will be shortened from 45 minutes to 40 minutes. In the second phase, the 27-car field will no longer be split into two 10-minute groups. Instead, each segment will be extended to 12 minutes. This change is aimed at reducing congestion and giving drivers more time to perform qualifying simulations on the faster alternate tires.
The idea of requiring drivers to complete a minimum of two laps on both primary and alternate tires, on two separate occasions, was discussed but not brought up during the meeting. This proposal had been met with limited enthusiasm in the past, so it remains to be seen if it will be revisited at the upcoming Indianapolis Grand Prix.
The changes to the practice format at Barber Motorsports Park are part of IndyCar’s ongoing efforts to improve the racing experience for fans and teams alike. By encouraging more running during practice sessions, the series hopes to create a more exciting and competitive environment for all involved. Only time will tell if these changes will have the desired effect, but one thing is for sure: the 2022 IndyCar season is shaping up to be an interesting one.
