IndyCar Series organisers have announced changes to the race distances for four of its events in the upcoming season in a bid to avoid the ‘economy run’ scenarios witnessed on a few too many occasions in 2012.
Several events copped criticism for turning into fuel-saving races, as opposed to flat-out spectacles that organisers and fans had hoped for.
And so the organisers of the St Petersburg, Milwaukee and Mid-Ohio rounds will have their distances increased by 10, 25 and 5 laps respectively.
Conversely, the Long Beach round will be reduced from 85 laps to 80 laps, making its 157-mile distance among the shortest on the calendar.
“Changing the distances at these races will hopefully eliminate the strategy of saving fuel from the drop of the green flag,” IndyCar race director Beaux Barfield said.
“That will enable our teams and drivers to race hard for the full distance and improve the events’ entertainment value for the fans.”
The IndyCar Series remains one of the few top-line open-wheeler series that allows in-race refuelling.
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Richard Bailey
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