Penske PC-23

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Penske PC-23
Surfers Paradise
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Constructors' Championships1 (
CART
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The Penske PC-23 was a highly successful

pushrod Mercedes-Benz 500I engine,[4] designed and developed for the single race of Indianapolis, exploiting a loophole in different technical rules between the Indy 500 (which was then sanctioned by USAC) and CART sanctioning bodies at that time.[5]

Overview

The PC-23 was a design evolution of its predecessor, the

1993 CART title by only 8 points.[6] The only substantial difference of the new car from it were the smaller rear wings on the short ovals, mandatory by rule changes for the 1994 season, and Team Penske put in a lot of test efforts to minimize the effects of these changes. There were also some modifications on the transmission, but the new car was mostly a progression. Plans to fit the PC-23 with an active suspension system were cancelled due to a ban by CART on such technology.[2]
The car and the Ilmor engine were ready for testing by mid-December 1993.

The Indy 500 version of the PC-23, showed a much higher engine cover, required because of the new engine. Other modifications included changes to the input gears of the

gearbox, to cope with the lower rpm and higher power and torque the pushrod engine provided. However, the two versions of the gearbox were of the same weight, thus causing no shift in the weight balance. The Mercedes-Benz 500I engine was slightly lighter than the Ilmor Indy V-8, although because of its longer inlets the centre of gravity of the entire engine was higher than that of the 500I, thus changing the overall balance of the car a bit.[2] The development and testing of the 500I engine, at that time called Ilmor 265E, took place in the utmost secrecy because there was a possibility of the turbocharger boost level being changed, or the engine being banned by the Indy 500 sanctioning body.[2]

Racing history

See also:
1995 IndyCar season
Emerson Fittipaldi driving the PC-23 at the 1994 Indianapolis 500

The PC23 debuted at

Laguna Seca were won by Paul Tracy
. Unser, Fittipaldi, and Tracy ended the season at first three places in season standings respectively.

In the

1996, the PC-23 had one final run, at the inaugural U.S. 500 with Gary Bettenhausen, who crashed out of the race in lap 89, while in the 21st place.[10]

Mercedes-Benz 500I

Further information: Mercedes-Benz 500I engine
Mercedes-Benz 500I engine displayed in the Mercedes-Benz Museum.

Much to the surprise of competitors,

psi/33.8 kPa) of boost. This extra power (1,024 horsepower,[13] which was up a 150-200 hp advantage over the conventional V-8s.[12]) allowed the Penskes to run significantly faster, giving them the pole and outside front row on the grid for the 78th Indianapolis 500. Al Unser Jr. and Emerson Fittipaldi dominated the race, eventually lapping the field with 16 laps to go in the 200 lap race when Emerson made contact with a wall coming out of Turn 4, giving Al Unser Jr. the lead and win. The only other driver who finished on the lead lap was rookie Jacques Villeneuve
.

In the summer and fall of 1993,[12] Ilmor and Penske engaged in a new engine program. Under complete secrecy,[12] a 209 cid purpose-built, pushrod engine was being developed.[11] Mercedes stepped in near the end of development and paid a fee in order to badge the engine as the Mercedes-Benz 500I. The engine was designed to exploit a perceived "loophole" that existed in USAC's rulebook since 1991.[12] While CART sanctioned the rest of the Indycar season, the Indianapolis 500 itself was conducted by USAC under slightly different rules.

In an effort to appeal to smaller engine-building companies, USAC had permitted "stock-block" pushrod engines (generally defined as single

pushrod and rocker arm). The traditional "stock blocks," saw some limited use in the early 1980s, but became mainstream at Indy starting with the introduction of the Buick V-6 Indy engine. Initially, the stock blocks were required to have some production-based parts. However, in 1991, USAC quietly lifted the requirement, and purpose-built pushrod engines were permitted to be designed for racing at the onset. Attempting to create an equivalency formula,[12] both pushrod engine formats were allowed increased displacement (209.3 cid vs. 161.7),[11] and increased turbocharger boost (55 inHG vs. 45 inHG)[11]

Team Penske mated the engine with the in-house Penske chassis, the PC-23. It was introduced to the public in April, just days before opening day at Indy.

Legacy

The Penske PC-23 at the 1994 Indianapolis 500

The car in its Indy 500 version caused a considerable uproar at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and in the

IRL split,.[14]

In 2014, author Jade Gurss published a book detailing the efforts to create the PC-23. Called Beast, the book explored what happened in the year leading up to the 1994 Indy-500.[15]

Complete Indy Car World Series results

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

Year Entrant Engine Tyres Driver No. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Points D.C.
1994
Marlboro Team Penske
 Ilmor 265D V-8-turbo
Mercedes-Benz 500I V-8-turbo 		G SFR
PHX
 LBH INDY
MIL
DET
 POR CLE
TOR
MCH
MDO
 NHA VAN
ROA
 NAZ
LAG
Brazil Emerson Fittipaldi 2 2 1 21 17 2 2 2 20 3 10 3 3 9 3 3 4 178 2nd
Canada Paul Tracy 3 16 23 20 23 3 1 3 3 5 16 2 2 20 18 1 1 152 3rd
United States Al Unser Jr. 31 14 2 1 1 1 10 1 1 29 8 1 1 1 2 2 20 225 1st
1995
 Bettenhausen Motorsports Mercedes-Benz IC108B V8t G
MIA
 SFR
PHX
 LBH NAZ INDY
MIL
DET
 POR
ROA
TOR
 CLE
MCH
MDO
 NHA VAN
LAG
Sweden Stefan Johansson 16 22 17 24 6 3 DNQ1 21 11 6 10 14 8 6 23 25 4 14 60 13th
Marlboro Team Penske
 Mercedes-Benz IC108B V8t G Brazil Emerson Fittipaldi 2 89 DNQ - 2 NC 2
1996
Bettenhausen Racing
 Mercedes-Benz IC108B V8t G MIA RIO SFR LBH NAZ 500 MIL
DET
 POR CLE TOR
MCH
MDO
ROA
 VAN
LAG
United States Gary Bettenhausen 26 21 0 39th

1 Johansson did qualify a Reynard 94I - Ford XB V8t.
2 Only the #89 car results are counted. Fittipaldi run entire season with the PC-24 chassis, scoring 67 points and 11th final place.

Chassis Constructors

Chassis Top Team Top Driver SFR
PHX
 LBH INDY
MIL
DET
 POR CLE
TOR
MCH
MDO
 NHA VAN
ROA
 NAZ
LAG
 Points Rk
United States Penske PC-23
Penske PC-22
Marlboro Team Penske
 United States Al Unser Jr. 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 3 8 1 1 1 2 1 1 313 1

References

  1. ^ "The Ten Craziest Engines of the Indy 500". 23 May 2014.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Mercedosaurus Rex at Indianapolis Park, Part 10: Penske PC23 - a home for the engine". forix.autosport.com.
  3. ^ "1994 CART PPG IndyCar World Series standings". race-database.com.
  4. ^ "The Penske-Mercedes PC23-500I". forix.autosport.com.
  5. ^ Siano, Joseph (1994-05-22). "AUTO RACING; Penske Drives Through Loophole And Into Indianapolis Front Row". The New York Times.
  6. ^ "1993 CART PPG IndyCar World Series standings". race-database.com.
  7. ^ "PEOPLE: RICK GORNE". grandprix.com.
  8. ^ "Andretti and Dad Finish 1st and 3d". The New York Times. 1994-03-21.
  9. ^ "Part 18: The 1995 '500' - The Mercedosaurus bites its masters after all". forix.autosport.com.
  10. ^ a b "Part 21: PC23's further active career after 1994". forix.autosport.com.
  11. ^ a b c d e Siano, Joseph (1994-04-18). "AUTO RACING; Penske's Engine Has Opponents Singing Brickyard Blues". The New York Times.
  12. ^ a b c d e f Siano, Joseph (1994-05-22). "AUTO RACING; Penske Drives Through Loophole And Into Indianapolis Front Row". The New York Times.
  13. ^ "- YouTube". YouTube.
  14. ^ "Mercedosaurus Rex at Indianapolic Park, Part 23: The loose ends that didn't fit in anywhere else and the epilogue". forix.autosport.com.
  15. ISBN 978-1937747336
    .

External links

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