Chip Ganassi Racing's Scott Dixon got his first highpseed glance at IndyCar's new safety aeroscreen yesterday in testing.
Made of a proprietary material by PPG, the screen is derived from a fighter jet canopy. Dixon put the device to test at Phoenix and reported back with a satisfactory assessment overall.
"It’s a little bit different looking through something that’s so thick, but I thought it would be worse with distortion but there was nothing like that," said the Kiwi.
"We’ll run it a little bit later to see what it’s like as the sun is setting, and then again at night."
While the component appeared to reduce buffeting in the cockpit, Dixon noted it also impacted cooling around the driver's compartment.
"The weirdest thing is how quiet it is. You have no buffeting, the car feels very smooth, it feels like you’re in a luxury well-damped car.
"But cooling! We need some cooling, just because you get no airflow through the car. Kudos to [IndyCar and PPG], but there’s definitely things that we can improve on and make better."
