Where did the decision for the Indy Racing League to adopt ethanol originate?
This was a decision taken by the series. We then gave it an honest shot to see if we could make it work. There were no major issues to be overcome, so we did not resist it. If the change had meant millions of dollars of engine development then it would not have made sense for anybody. What was your first move when you were told that the IRL was mandating ethanol fuel? Our first foray was to see how the existing 3.0 l engine worked on ethanol. We did a base calibration and just ran it. Two things were apparent. One was that the engine performance was down, which was not unexpected, the other that the amount of heat rejected by the engine was greater; we were a little surprised by quite how much. We then spoke to the chassis manufacturers about the cooling requirements of the engine and then to the IRL pointing out that the down turn in performance would probably be fine for oval racing, taking only about four or five miles an hour off the speed of the cars. However, we were concerned ab
