The USF Pro Championships Presented by Continental Tire has announced it will increase horsepower on road and street courses for the top two rungs of its open-wheel driver development ladder system — USF Pro 2000 and USF2000.
“Our goal is to consistently provide the best platform to prepare our drivers to progress up the ladder,” said Dan Andersen, owner and CEO of Andersen Promotions. “Increasing horsepower will not only improve the training drivers will receive from the series, but also make the cars more exciting to drive and more challenging.”
Trials of the increased horsepower were conducted during the recent USF Pro Fall Combine Open Test at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway earlier this month, with VRD Racing’s Noah Ping taking the point in USF Pro 2000 and Exclusive Autosport’s Jack Jeffers in USF2000. Ping most recently contested and won in GB3 competition while Jeffers is a multi-time race winner in USF Juniors.
Elite Engines, the official engine supplier of USF Pro Championships will reset the USF Pro 2000 rev limiter from 500 rpm to 8350 rpm, affecting the engine’s power output and drivability. Peak horsepower output will be boosted 10 hp at the top end while the bottom end will gain as much as 40 hp culminating in lower lap times, a substantial improvement in acceleration out of slower corners along with an increase in top speeds.
USF2000 will continue with its current rev limiter, but removal of the engine restrictor will result in a 20 hp increase at the top end, an increase in acceleration, with a small gain in top speed, and faster lap times.
“It was a great change, making the car come to life in the best of ways,” said Ping. “It is slightly more challenging to drive resulting in the need to be more precise and delicate with the right foot. It also makes driving the USF Pro 2000 car more of a total experience because not only is it more fun to drive but also it increases your heart rate and requires the driver’s inputs to be more precise than before.
“It will be a new experience that will help driver development and reward the best drivers, especially in the wet. I truly cannot say enough great things about how this horsepower increase will shape the future of the USF Pro 2000 series.”
Said Jeffers, “The increased horsepower was definitely an eye-opener as to how much faster these cars can truly go. It didn’t really require me to change my driving style a whole lot though. My braking points were the same, turn-in and apex were the same. The big difference is apparent on the exit; you have so much more power so there is more wheelspin, and then climbing through fourth, fifth and sixth gear, it continues to pull very hard and that’s where I noticed the biggest difference to my competitors. The unrestricted car pulls through fourth and fifth gear much better. There were a couple of occasions where when I got a good draft, I would almost run out of gear in sixth.
“But overall, I really like the unrestricted car, and with the added wheelspin, tire management could be a potential factor in the mid-season with all the long hot races. I strongly believe that it will improve the racing and make the car harder to drive, creating a clear distinction from the front-runners to the midfield.”