Rossi gives 2028 IndyCar its first oval run at IMS
Alexander Rossi turned the first laps in IndyCar’s 2028 Dallara IR-28 chassis on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s 2.5-mile oval on Wednesday, and was encouraged by the car’s capabilities.
“It does everything that an IndyCar should do around here,” the 2016 Indy 500 winner said. “We got through some basic mechanical and aero changes to understand the offsets that they're going to present to us in a couple of years, and there was no surprise. I mean, it was really pretty standard.
"I wouldn't say there was anything drastically different from this car to the current car that we have. Some subtle things here and there if you're really nitpicking at it. But in general, I think it's important to remember that the current generation speedway car that we have around here, it's pretty dialed (in) and it's pretty good. So there's not going to be some revolutionary thing that we come with here in my mind. And this car meets expectations from a from a feel standpoint. And like I said, there's no surprises.”
Without offering specifics, Rossi says the IR-28 has some setup options that create more tuning possibilities than the current Dallara DW12, but found the driving experience to be very similar.
“So I don't want to get too far into the weeds there, but there's some mechanical changes that you can make that are pretty significant (that) you don't have available to you on the current car," he said.
"But in terms of the actual driving a lap around here, it's very minimal differences. There's no major glaring issues. It's all just early days and trying to get time on it and understanding what little adjustments do here and there. But like I said, there's nothing there's nothing huge separating it from the current car that we have.”
Significant rain is forecast heading into Thursday, when 2025 Indy 500 winner Alex Palou is meant to step into the cockpit. If rain intervenes, RACER understands the series could make use of some of Friday to continue the car’s first Speedway test.
Speeds were kept in check by the series on the first Speedway validation test, and Rossi ran most of his laps inside the 210-220mph range.
“That's what we had to work with,” he said. “I think that conditions were warmer than expected, so that obviously plays a pretty big role around here in terms of just overall performance that you're going to get out of the car, I think that if it's cooler tomorrow, if they get running in or Friday, that those numbers will change a little bit.
"But ultimately, you're on low boost and you're not doing Q sims (qualifying simulations). So I would say it's about to be expected, but certainly conditions played a role today.”
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