Rahal: Lack of Testing Not Detrimental

One of the key talking points going into the 2018 season is the preference showed to teams by Indycar and engine manfacturers by allowing certain cars and drivers to test the 2018 spec aerokits.

When the striking, new kits were first announced, stalwart teams like Team Penske and Chip Ganassi Racing were able to test them alongside more mid-pack teams such as Ed Carpenter Racing and Schmidt Peterson Motorsports. Left out of the initial wave of testing were racing winning teams such as Andretti Autosports, AJ Foyt Enterprises, Dale Coyne Racing, and Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing.

29 year old RLL driver, Graham Rahal voiced his concerns about the potential advantage given to teams able to test early, saying, ""I think it's a clear advantage for them." He added, however, "But, to be honest, Schmidt was a team that had a lot of testing; the first test, we were quicker than them. I don't see that as detrimental to us, I guess is my point. I think with good quality engineering staff, with a great team around us, drivers that are capable of getting up to speed quickly, I feel like we'll be right in the hunt right away."

Rahal was also skeptical of the so called 'total data sharing' that was supposed to exist between teams that had the oppturnity to test early and those that didn't. He told reporters, "Was the data shared with us? I would say some of it." He continued, adding, "We all have to remember it's fairly easy to fudge data a little bit. My point is, the distances or things like that, the data sets that are getting sent, are they accurate? Doesn't mean they always are"

Whether Rahal's fears will be realized come race day will be determined at the first race of the year, held in St. Petersburg, FL on March 11th.

TAGS: #indycar #motorsports