'Push to pass' gets green light.

In an effort to make for more competition on the race track and increase passing opportunities for the drivers, the Champ Car World Series and Cosworth Racing have announced that they have developed a 'push to pass' mechanism for the Ford-Cosworth XFE racing engines in 2004.

The innovation will give drivers a chance to increase their boost from 41.5 to 44 inches of mercury with the push of a button, a system that will give them an extra 50 horsepower per use. The drivers will have the ability to use the increased boost for a total of 60 seconds per race, a time that is equivalent to five applications on the average main straightaway of a Champ Car circuit.

"We wanted to put give our drivers more of an opportunity to make passes and compete for position and we think this will play a key role in that," said Champ Car technical director Lee Dykstra, "Champ Car director of electronics Kevin van der Laan and others in our organisation have worked very hard to develop this new application and we expect it to make for more exciting racing."

The normal 41.5-inch level of boost will be controlled by engine sensors that will measure the boost before it reaches the pop-off valve, with the maximum 44 inches of boost regulated by the pop-off valve. The pop-off valves will continue to be maintained by Champ Car and distributed to the teams at the track during race weekends.

"This gives us another opportunity to further develop our engines and we are very pleased with the progress to this point," said Cosworth vice-president Ian Bisco, "The Champ Car World Series gives Cosworth Racing the chance to be creative, and that is a big reason why we are involved in the series."

To allow fans and television viewers the opportunity to recognise how the drivers are using the new system, the Champ Car television production crew will monitor each time that the system is used, letting fans know how much time each driver has remaining in his boost reserve. The production crew will also track the tendencies of the drivers in helping fans determine when their favourite driver might be more apt to use his allotment.

"This new 'push to pass' system, when combined with the other competition rules in place for 2004, will make for very exciting racing," insisted Champ Car's executive
vice-president of operations John Lopes, "We have developed all of our rules for 2004 with the racing fans in mind as well as the drivers and teams, and we feel that we have come up with a package that will make for a great on-track product this year."