IndyCar has updated and finalized its standing start procedure, which will be introduced in race No. 1 of this weekend’s Honda Indy Toronto doubleheader (Saturday and Sunday, 3 p.m. ET, NBCSN) and once again in the Houston Grand Prix doubleheader (Race 1) near Reliant Park in October.
IndyCar finalizes standing start procedures in advance of Indy Toronto
IndyCar will implement a standing start for race No. 1 of the doubleheaders in Toronto and Houston. Standing starts are regularly used in Formula 1 and were a stalwart of the old CART promotion for all road and street courses.
Streeter Lecka
Here are the key takeaways from the 2013 IndyCar Series rulebook:
Countdown - The safety car will lead the formation lap and drivers will follow single-file in starting order.
Formation Lap - During the formation lap, drivers will remain in starting order with no overtaking. The speed of the formation lap will be set by the safety car.
Grid - At the end of the formation lap, drivers will take their starting positions with the front wheels of the car remaining within its designated orange grid line.
A five-second declaration will be made via radio by the Race Director prior to the start of the light sequence. The starting sequence will begin when the first two rows of red lights on the lighting panel illuminate. The red lights will continue to fill from the bottom of the light panel two rows at a time, for a total of six steps (12 rows).
Once the panel is filled with red lights, there will be a delay between .5 and 3 seconds and the panel will switch to all green lights and the race will begin.
False Start - A false start shall be declared when a car moves forward or is out of its assigned position before completion of the light sequence. A penalty will be imposed for a false start.
Aborted Start - The Race Director can declare an aborted start before the final row of red lights is illuminated on the lighting panel.If the start is aborted, the full-course caution lights will be turned on.
In the event of an aborted start, a rolling start shall be implemented. Any Competitors whose actions result in an aborted start will move to the rear of the field.
With the rules finalized, are you excited for standing starts and will they go off without incident on Saturday afternoon? Tell us in the comments section below.
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