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Frenchman Tristan Vautier, the 2012 Indy Lights champion and 2013 IndyCar Series Rookie of the Year, took the new Indy Lights IL-15 car out for its maiden full test at Mid-Ohio.

“It's a proper race car and definitely good step forward for the series,” said Vautier after a dozen laps on the 2.258-mile, 13-turn road course. “I love the sound and performance of the turbocharged engine, the drivability, the brakes. I'm very comfortable in the seat.”

The introduction of the chassis to competition next year will coincide with the 30th anniversary of Indy Lights. Vautier is scheduled to test August 12 and 14 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and at the Milwaukee Mile later in the month.

Additional on-track testing, which will include Verizon IndyCar Series drivers to provide feedback, is scheduled for September.

The new car is about 180 pounds lighter than the current Indy Lights car with more horsepower.

Tristan Vautier, Indy Lights IL-15 (Photo: IndyCar)

The IL-15 mirrors the IndyCar Series' car supplied by Dallara with full-length anti-intrusion panels, side-mounted radiators to assist in energy absorption, a raised monocoque to protect the driver's head, a front wing span to reduce wheel-to-wheel contact and increased underwing width to also reduce wheel-to-wheel contact.

Paddle shifting and push to pass also are mechanisms shared with the IndyCar. And the Indy Lights car has an onboard starter - an attribute not on the current IndyCar.

Car specifications
Top Speed: 200 mph
Design: Carbon chassis and bodywork
Weight: 1,400 pounds
Length: 192 inches
Width: 76 inches
Transmission: 6-speed semi-automatic

AER-P63 engine
Engine: 2-liter, turbocharged 4-cylinder
Horsepower: 450 horsepower plus 50 horsepower push to pass
Design: All aluminum
Weight: 230 pounds dry crated
Features: Carbon plenum, carbon inlet runner and trumpets and “drive-by-wire” throttle control
Electronics: AER with full active-knock control, ignition-angle learning, advanced boost control and integrated gear-shift strategies

Additional components
• Cosworth looms, data logger, dash, display and sensors
• Dynamic dampers
• Life Racing paddle-shift kit
• Tilton carbon clutch
• PFC brakes
• 2014 carryover items include gearbox internals (including ratios), dampers and springs

From GMM

Ferrari F1 driver Kimi Raikkonen looks set to race into the world of fatherhood.

Currently vacationing on his yacht off the Mediterranean island of Corsica, photos have emerged of the Finn's girlfriend Minttu appearing apparently pregnant.

And Minttu has added a photo of the couple to her Instagram account including the hashtags 'babyonboard' and 'momanddadtobe'.

Raikkonen's spokesman, Riku Kuvaja, is quoted by the Finnish newspaper Turun Sanomat: "Minttu and Kimi hope, above all, for peace from the media in this joyous time."

Kimi and Minttu in Monaco. (Photo: WRi2)

Federal prosecutors are asking questions about the practices of GM's financing unit, subpoenaing the company in the midst of a resurgence in U.S. auto sales fueled partly by a subprime lending boom.

The new Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon mid-sized pickups will be priced about $8,000 to $10,000 less than comparably equipped models of their larger showroom siblings, the Silverado and Sierra.

Warner Peacock, CEO of New River Auto Mall in South Carolina, is teaming up with Florida mega dealer David Maus to form a new company called First Team Automotive Group LLC.

Toyota is retiring the 'andon cord,' the emergency cable strung above assembly lines that came to symbolize the built-in quality of the Toyota Way and was widely copied through the auto industry and beyond.

Rolls-Royce will expand its lineup with a new convertible that will go on sale mid-2016. Media reports said the car will be a convertible version of the Wraith coupe, which is based on the Ghost sedan.

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