A Racing Evolution--The Panoz DP01 ChampCar

All about the Champ Car World Series (CCWS)

Moderators: Ed, mlittle

Locked
mlittle
Forum Hall of Fame
Forum Hall of Fame
Posts: 11205
Joined: Mon Jun 13, 2005 12:51 pm
Location: At the F1 Idiots Bar.............where else?
Contact:

A Racing Evolution--The Panoz DP01 ChampCar

Post by mlittle » Wed Aug 23, 2006 2:41 pm

After several weeks of waiting following the unveiling of the 2007-spec Panoz DP01 ChampCar in San Jose, series officials, along with officials from Panoz Motorsports and Elan Motorsport Group, were present to watch the first on-track testing at the Sebring Intl. Raceway short course this afternoon. With weather conditions in the low-to-mid 90's(F) and plenty of Florida humidity, former ChampCar & F1 driver Roberto Moreno took the DP01 through several short-runs, as officials were concerned not to overheat the car in its' first tests. Here are some quotes from those involved..............

Roberto Moreno, ChampCar test driver:
I am extremely impressed with how quickly we got the testing program running and running well. All of the new systems showed great promise and should provide the teams and drivers with a car that they can really work with. The paddle shifters worked well and will really allow you to drive the car in the corners deeper since you don't have to take your hands off the wheel. The brakes worked well, the cooling systems did a great job and I am excited about running even more testing tomorrow.
Scot Elkins, ChampCar Director of Technology:
Everything is going according to plan. We are very happy with the results and we feel confident in our ability to complete our test plan. We are looking forward to increasing the length and the intensity of the testing as we go along.
Testing will continue at Sebring for most of tomorrow as the car continues its' initial shakedown; here are some of the key differences between the Panoz DP01 and the current Lola B2K(and its' variants')........

~~unlike the current Lola, in which most of the downforce is provided via. the front/rear-wings, the majority of the downforce generated by the Panoz comes from the underbody, providing for less turbulence and, it is hoped, a lot more on-track passing
~~the current Lola B2K uses the venerable Ford-Cosworth XFE-2 2.65L V8 turbo; the Panoz DP01 will use the Ford-Cosworth XFE-3 2.65L V8 turbo
~~the Panoz DP01 is 100 lbs lighter than the current Lola, yet unlike the Lola B2K, the Panoz was able to pass all FIA-specified safety on the first attempt.......a first in their testing history)
~~unlike the current Lola, which uses a standard front/rear sequential gear shifter, the Panoz will use F1-style paddle shifters that will also allow drivers to up/down-shift without having the let off the throttle
The Sci-Fi Station Come by and visit when you get the chance. :)
The Wayward Tarheel I'm even in the blogosphere.... :shock:

mlittle
Forum Hall of Fame
Forum Hall of Fame
Posts: 11205
Joined: Mon Jun 13, 2005 12:51 pm
Location: At the F1 Idiots Bar.............where else?
Contact:

Post by mlittle » Fri Aug 25, 2006 5:14 pm

Testing continued at Sebring as ChampCar and Panoz officials continued shakedown runs of the Panoz DP01 racecar; so far, only 300 miles have been logged on the car, under swltering heat and humidity without any problems. Indeed, if the reports are correct, the car had few problems, if any, and handled the additional heat stresses without trouble.

Additional testing is scheduled for Friday and for most of next week, with additional testing after that to be conducted at Road Atlanta in September.
The Sci-Fi Station Come by and visit when you get the chance. :)
The Wayward Tarheel I'm even in the blogosphere.... :shock:

mlittle
Forum Hall of Fame
Forum Hall of Fame
Posts: 11205
Joined: Mon Jun 13, 2005 12:51 pm
Location: At the F1 Idiots Bar.............where else?
Contact:

Testing continues from Sebring...........

Post by mlittle » Thu Sep 07, 2006 10:05 am

ChampCar and Panoz Motorsport officials continued with testing this week at Sebring International Raceway as test driver Roberto Moreno continued to put the new Panoz DP01 through its' paces; both yesterday and today he completed multiple full-fuel runs, putting 275 laps under the car on Tuesday and 247 laps today. Technical personnel performed multiple pitstop exercises to test how the car's braking and launch mechanisms work(read......launch control; coupled w/no ovals on the 2007 schedule and chances are we will see standings starts in Champ Car..... :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: ) Here are some quotes from those involved............

Scot Elkins, ChampCar Director of Technology:
We are really putting the Panoz DP01 through its' paces. We had a successful first test (last week) and now we are starting to push all of the components of the car. We want to ensure the reliability of the car so we are putting it through all the extremes. After the first test we gave the car a through inspection and were happy not to find any problems. We still have a lot of miles to go and we're confident the car is up to the task.
Roberto Moreno, ChampCar test driver:
The car continues to perform well. Conditions were tough (both days) and we did a lot of miles. We didn't have any problems with the car and I know we are going to run even more miles tomorrow. I know I'm quite happy with the progress and I think everyone is as well.
Testing is schedule to continue at Sebring and possibly also at Road Atlanta(near Panoz's HQs') next week.
The Sci-Fi Station Come by and visit when you get the chance. :)
The Wayward Tarheel I'm even in the blogosphere.... :shock:

mlittle
Forum Hall of Fame
Forum Hall of Fame
Posts: 11205
Joined: Mon Jun 13, 2005 12:51 pm
Location: At the F1 Idiots Bar.............where else?
Contact:

2nd week of testing complete

Post by mlittle » Sat Sep 09, 2006 4:04 pm

ChampCar completed its' second week of testing on the 2007 Panoz DP01 as driver Roberto Moreno put the new car through its' paces; so far, they have run over 1450 miles, which is the effective limit of the series' Ford-Coswprth XFE-3 engine between engine rebuilds. According to officials, teams and drivers will be able to see the car in action starting next week as they conduct an additional week of testing starting on 11 Sept. and proceeding through 15 Sept. 2006.
The Sci-Fi Station Come by and visit when you get the chance. :)
The Wayward Tarheel I'm even in the blogosphere.... :shock:

mlittle
Forum Hall of Fame
Forum Hall of Fame
Posts: 11205
Joined: Mon Jun 13, 2005 12:51 pm
Location: At the F1 Idiots Bar.............where else?
Contact:

Panoz DP01 passes 2,000 miles of testing

Post by mlittle » Fri Sep 15, 2006 9:03 am

This week, ChampCar officials celebrated as their new Panoz DP01 racecar, piloted by Roberto Moreno, reached an important milestone, passing over 2000 miles of distance. For the first time, also, several teams(CTE-HVM, Pacific Coast, Gelles, Forsythe, Newman-Haas and Dale Coyne) were present to watch the new car run through its' paces; only one problem has developed in the 2+ weeks of testing, as technicians scrambled late Tuesday to repair a busted gearbox, replacing a piece of gearing that had gone more than four times its' lifecycle. Testing is scheduled to conclude tomorrow at Sebring and the car's next public appearance is now set for Road America during ChampCar's race weekend of 22-24 Sept. 2006.
The Sci-Fi Station Come by and visit when you get the chance. :)
The Wayward Tarheel I'm even in the blogosphere.... :shock:

mlittle
Forum Hall of Fame
Forum Hall of Fame
Posts: 11205
Joined: Mon Jun 13, 2005 12:51 pm
Location: At the F1 Idiots Bar.............where else?
Contact:

First Delivery's on the way.........

Post by mlittle » Wed Nov 29, 2006 5:53 pm

According to autoracing1.com, the first deliveries from Panoz Motorsport Group of the new Panoz DP01 ChampCar to the teams is currently scheduled on/about the 5th of December.
The Sci-Fi Station Come by and visit when you get the chance. :)
The Wayward Tarheel I'm even in the blogosphere.... :shock:

mlittle
Forum Hall of Fame
Forum Hall of Fame
Posts: 11205
Joined: Mon Jun 13, 2005 12:51 pm
Location: At the F1 Idiots Bar.............where else?
Contact:

Re: First Delivery's on the way.........

Post by mlittle » Thu Dec 21, 2006 9:28 pm

mlittle wrote:According to autoracing1.com, the first deliveries from Panoz Motorsport Group of the new Panoz DP01 ChampCar to the teams is currently scheduled on/about the 5th of December.
Scratch the above; the first deliveries were made on December 20th.....
:shock: :shock: :bang:.......more info over the holidays.........
The Sci-Fi Station Come by and visit when you get the chance. :)
The Wayward Tarheel I'm even in the blogosphere.... :shock:

mlittle
Forum Hall of Fame
Forum Hall of Fame
Posts: 11205
Joined: Mon Jun 13, 2005 12:51 pm
Location: At the F1 Idiots Bar.............where else?
Contact:

Early Christmas Present for ChampCar Teams........

Post by mlittle » Thu Dec 28, 2006 10:03 am

Christmas came pretty darned' early for Champ Car teams back on Dec. 21st as the first deliveries of the new Panoz DP01 were made; here is a picture of some of the new racecars being off loaded. The cars were brought to Champ Car headquarters in Indianapolis, Ind. from Panoz Motorsport Group facilities in Braselton, Ga.; here are some quotes from those involved............

Steve Johnson, President, Champ Car World Series:
We look at today as the actual start of the 2007 season. This has been an exciting process, watching the new Champ Car take shape. From the first design sketches to wind tunnel testing and now to see the cars going to our teams, it has been a very rewarding experience for all of us and I couldn't be happier about the way our teams as well as the team from Elan Motorsports Technologies have performed during the process.
David Bowes, Chief Executive Officer, Elan Motorsports Technologies*:
In all my years of experience in motorsports, I have never known a situation where a manufacturer was able to deliver ten "all-new" race cars of this complexity before Christmas. It is a tremendous feat and everyone at Elan should be proud of what they have accomplished. In just over one year we have designed, developed and built a prototype car, undertaken two thousand miles (plus) of testing and then built ten production cars. The plan is to build as many as 35 cars prior to the start of the 2007 season.
Scot Elkins, Vice President of Technology, Champ Car World Series:
This has been a very rewarding process for all of us and to see the entire plan come to fruition today is something we can all be proud of. The thing that I am most proud of is the fact that the schedule we laid out almost a year ago has gone as close to plan as any project can go. It is a testament to the hard work of everyone concerned, not only at Champ Car and Elan but also with all of our suppliers and partners.
*--Elan Motorsports Technologies is a subsidiary of Panoz Motorsports Group

It is amazing in a sense.....in around 12 months, they've done the following:
~~designed and tested the first, new, all-American race car since the late 1990's(when Eagle and Swift chassis' were on the CART grid)
~~conducted over 2000+ miles of testing
~~conducted exhibitions of the Panoz DP01 at Road America, Surfers Paradise, Mexico City and on the new Zhuhai, China circuit
~~built the first 10 of an expected 35 Panoz DP01's

The best quote, though, goes to Minardi Team USA's Daryl Fox, who, when asked to comment, declined, saying thusly.......
Gotta go, man, gotta go....Got work to do!
:knight: :knight: :knight: :havefun: :burnout: :burnout:
The Sci-Fi Station Come by and visit when you get the chance. :)
The Wayward Tarheel I'm even in the blogosphere.... :shock:

Locked