IndyCar to test new in-car camera locations during Spring Training

NTT IndyCar Series fans will want to keep an eye on the upcoming February 11-12 Spring Training test for new and interesting camera locations on the fleet of Dallara DW12s in action at Circuit of The Americas.

Following the implementation of in-car cameras mounted in the noses of the Chevy- and Honda-powered cars a few years ago, and the widespread adoption of helmet-mounted cameras, the series will try some additional locations at COTA as a trial run ahead of the March 13-15 season opener in St. Petersburg.

“Yes, we're going to try a bunch of stuff at the open test,” IndyCar president Jay Frye told RACER. “We already have a lot of places (to mount) cameras, but there are more places we want to try out, see if they work the way we hope to give fans some new perspectives

“We've got a lot of ideas that everybody's working on, so we’ll run them during the test, see how it looks, and that'll dictate what's next on whether we keep some of those new (locations) moving into the season.”

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One camera test will be of particular importance for those who’ve enjoyed the ‘visor cam’ view pioneered by BSI and IMS Productions. Prior to the installation of IndyCar’s new-for-2020 aeroscreen, the cameras mounted atop a driver’s helmet offered a clear and unrestricted view forward. But with the Red Bull Advanced Technologies halo and aeroscreen in place on every car, and depending on how high a driver sits in the cockpit, the height of the camera could leave fans staring at live footage of the titanium halo ring, rather than the road ahead.

“We've got some other spots that we're going to try for the visor cam,” Frye added. “So that’s part of the camera tests; and then we've got a new camera in the (halo) frame that looks back and points down at the driver.

"The video team will be busy at COTA, for sure.”