Reynard 94I

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Reynard 94I
ArieLuyendyk1996recordcar.jpg
Category CART IndyCar
Constructor Reynard Racing Cars
Designer(s) Malcolm Oastler
Predecessornone
Successor Reynard 95I
Technical specifications
Engine Ilmor Indy V8/D
Ford/Cosworth XB
Mercedes-Benz IC108 2.65  L (2,650  cc; 162  cu in) V8 mid-engined
Transmission 6-speed Manual
Fuel Methanol
Tyres Goodyear Eagle
Competition history
Debut 1994 Australian FAI Indycar Grand Prix
Surfers Paradise, Australia
RacesWins Poles
3242

The Reynard 94I is an open-wheel racing car designed and built by Reynard Racing Cars. It competed in the 1994 and 1995 IndyCar seasons, notable for winning the first CART race it entered. The car continued to be raced in the 1996 and 1996-97 Indy Racing League seasons, and holds the unofficial and official lap records at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. [1] [2] [3]

Contents

Development

The 94I project began in November 1992 with designer Malcolm Oastler. [4] The car was intended to be "simple but soundly engineered, easy to tune and maintain, with a highly developed aerodynamic package." [5] An unused design for the Galmer G93 sold to Reynard was used as a basis for the 94I. [6] Bruce Ashmore, a former designer at Lola Cars, arrived late in the design process as the technical director, and provided input based on his experience with Indy cars. [7]

The car featured elements from the company's F3000 cars, such as dynamic suspension shocks and a longitudinal gearbox (as opposed to the transverse gearbox seen on the rival Lola and Penske cars). [4] Reynard also differentiated themselves by opening a technical base in Indianapolis and making its office and service staff accessible to customers, whereas the other manufacturers were still predominately located in England. [4]

A total of 14 cars were built for the 1994 season at the company's location in Bicester, England. [5]

Racing history

During the 1994 season, the 94I was raced by Chip Ganassi Racing, Hayhoe Racing, Hall Racing, Galles Racing and Forsythe-Green Racing, and powered by the Ford-Cosworth XB and Ilmor/D engines. An additional 94I was raced at the 1994 Indianapolis 500 by Hemelgarn Racing. The car proved immediately competitive as Ganassi driver Michael Andretti won the first race of the season, held at Surfers Paradise, having started from 2nd place on the grid. Andretti would win again at Toronto later that year. Jacques Villeneuve, in his rookie season, also took his first win for Forsythe-Green at Road America. Despite these results, the teams noted that the 94I was too pitch-sensitive, which would be rectified in the following year's 95I. [5]

The 94I continued to be used by smaller teams in 1995, one of its appeal being that the tub is the same as the 95I and the chassis could be updated to 1995 specifications. [8] [9] During the 1995 season, the 94I were used by Project Indy, Arciero-Wells, Pagan Racing and occasionally by Ganassi Racing. The 94I was also used by Stefan Johansson to qualify for the 1995 Indianapolis 500, when it became evident that his primary Penske chassis had trouble getting up to speed. [10]

For 1996, the car saw competition in the first year of the Indy Racing League (comprising the 1996 season and the first portion of the 1996-97 season) as the league allowed all Indy cars that complied with the 1995 technical regulations. [11] Hence, the grid featured multiple examples of the 94I chassis, mostly from Hemelgarn, Pagan and Treadway Racing (which was formed in conjunction with Project Indy). [1] With engineer Tim Wardrop, Treadway Racing set up Arie Luyendyk's 94I [1] to great effect; Luyendyk went on to set an all-time unofficial lap record of 239.260 mph at Indianapolis, a 1-lap record of 237.498 mph and a 4-lap record of 236.986 mph, all of which still stand as of the present day. [1] The 94I ended the year with a pole and win at Phoenix and pole position at Las Vegas, both achieved by Luyendyk. [12]

Complete Indy Car World Series results

(key) (Results in bold indicate pole position; results in italics indicate fastest lap)

YearEntrantEngineTyresDriverNo.1234567891011121314151617PtsD.C.
1994 SUR PHX LBH INDY MIL DET POR CLE TOR MIC MDO LOU VAN ROA NAZ LAG
Chip Ganassi Racing Ford/Cosworth XB G Flag of the United States.svg Michael Andretti 81*20664531181*22553179281184th
Flag of Brazil.svg Maurício Gugelmin 886157111583082015251451910223916th
Forsythe/Green Racing Ford/Cosworth XB G Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Jacques Villeneuve 121725152976492092624173946th
Hall Racing Ilmor Indy/D G Flag of Italy.svg Teo Fabi 117269717427984212018465799th
Galles Racing Ilmor Indy/D G Flag of Mexico.svg Adrián Fernández 7131082816231071323682252174613th
Hayhoe Racing Ford/Cosworth XB G Flag of the United States.svg Jimmy Vasser 1845244112032312525147152813264215th
Hemelgarn Racing Ford/Cosworth XB G Flag of the United States.svg Stan Fox 9113037th
1995 MIA SUR PHX LBH NAZ INDY MIL DET POR ROA TOR CLE MIC MDO LOU VAN LAG
Arciero-Wells Racing Ford/Cosworth XB F Flag of Japan.svg Hiro Matsushita 2526112219DNQ5128th1
Pagan Racing Mercedes-Benz IC108 G Flag of the United States.svg Dennis Vitolo 2118041st
Flag of Colombia.svg Roberto Guerrero 1612133rd
Bettenhausen Motorsports Ford/Cosworth XB G Flag of Sweden.svg Stefan Johansson 161660213th2
Chip Ganassi Racing Ford/Cosworth XB G Flag of the United States.svg Bryan Herta 4152430320th3
Project Indy Ford/Cosworth XB G Flag of the United States.svg Buddy Lazier 642115035th
Flag of France.svg Franck Fréon 15036th
Flag of the United States.svg Johnny Parsons, Jr. DNQ0NC
Flag of Germany.svg Christian Danner 226425th4
Flag of the United States.svg Jeff Wood Wth0NC
Flag of Austria.svg Hubert Stromberger 16WthDNQ038th
Flag of Italy.svg Domenico Schiattarella 1821040th

1 2 points were scored with the Reynard 94I. The remaining points were scored with a Reynard 95I.
2 No points were scored with the Reynard 94I, which only ran at Indy. All points were scored with a Penske PC23
3 No points were scored with the Reynard 94I. All points were scored with a Reynard 95I.
4 No points were scored with the Reynard 94I. Danner scored 6 points with a Lola T93/00.

Complete Indy Racing League results

(key) (Results in bold indicate pole position; results in italics indicate fastest lap)

YearEntrantEngineTyresDriverNo.12345678910PtsD.C.
1996 WDW
PHX
INDY
Pagan Racing Ford/Cosworth XB G Flag of Colombia.svg Roberto Guerrero 2151623714th1
Treadway Racing Ford/Cosworth XB F Flag of the Netherlands.svg Arie Luyendyk 51*1622517th1
Hemelgarn Ford/Cosworth XB F Flag of the United States.svg Brad Murphey 10231234th
1996-97 NH1 LV1 WDW PHX INDY TXS PIK CMS NH2 LV2
Treadway Racing Ford/Cosworth XB F Flag of the Netherlands.svg Arie Luyendyk 52022316th1
Flag of the United States.svg Johnny O'Connell 35122340th
Hemelgarn Ford/Cosworth XB F Flag of the United States.svg Brad Murphey 918272538th

1 Points include results scored with another chassis.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "8W - When? - 1996 Indy 500". www.forix.com. Retrieved 28 December 2018.
  2. "Reynard 94I-Illmor". www.dlg.speedfreaks.org. Retrieved 9 November 2024.
  3. "The cars of the 1996 Indy 500 Part 2".
  4. 1 2 3 Carl., Hungness (1994). Indianapolis 500 Yearbook - 1994. Speedway, IN: Carl Hungness Pub. ISBN   0915088630. OCLC   948309998.
  5. 1 2 3 Autocourse Indy car, 1994-95. Richmond, Surrey, Eng.: Hazleton Pub. 1994. ISBN   1874557853. OCLC   31910173.
  6. "Fifteen minutes of fame: Junior formula | Motor Sport Magazine Archive". Motor Sport Magazine. 7 July 2014. Retrieved 28 December 2018.
  7. Bennett, Nigel (15 October 2013). Inspired to design : F1 cars, Indycars & racing tyres : the autobiography of Nigel Bennett. Mears, Rick, Ashmore, Bruce, Beresford, N. W. (Nigel W.), Sprague, Chuck. ISBN   9781845845360. OCLC   873875317.
  8. Mandel, Leon (1995). "AutoWeek Official PPG Indy Car World Series Fan Guide". AutoWeek.
  9. Pagan, Allan (3 September 1999). "Seeking Mr. Pagan's thoughts on the '96 and '99 Indy 500s". groups.google.com. Retrieved 31 December 2018.
  10. "8W - What? - Penske-Mercedes PC23 500i". forix.autosport.com. Retrieved 31 December 2018.
  11. Jasbir., Jain (1996). 1996 indianapolis 500 yearbook. [Place of publication not identified]: Carl Hungness Pub. ISBN   0915088762. OCLC   795383707.
  12. "straight line speeds at indy - Page 4". www.trackforum.com. Retrieved 31 December 2018.