The all-new 2015 Dallara Indy Lights chassis will be powered by a Mazda engine next year, the Japanese automaker announced during the annual Performance Racing Industry Trade Show. This is the latest addition to Mazda’s Road to Indy driver development program.
The 2.0-liter turbocharged MZR-R engine was originally developed in collaboration with Advanced Engine Research (AER) and it was raced by Mazda in the American Le Mans Series and customer teams in the European Le Mans Series. It achieved many wins, among them the 2011 LMP1 engine manufacturers championship.
With further development by AER, the unit that will power the brand-new Dallara IL-15 Indy Lights chassis will have an output of 450hp and is designed to last an entire season without the need for a rebuild.
“Almost a third of Indy 500 field traces their roots to Mazda. Ading the Indy Lights series allows us to have an even longer, more productive relationship with the Indy stars of the future”, said director of Mazda Motorsports John Doonan. “We were the first to recognize the talents of racers like Simon Pagenaud, James Hinchliffe, Marco Andretti, Graham Rahal and many others. We can’t wait for the season to start at St. Pete, all the way to autumn in Monterey at our own Mazda Raceway for the season finale.”