Rahal-Hogan RH-001
 Truesports 91C | |||||||||
| Category | CART IndyCar | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Constructor | TrueSports/Rahal-Hogan | ||||||||
| Designer(s) | Don Halliday | ||||||||
| Technical specifications[1] | |||||||||
| Suspension (front) | pushrod | ||||||||
| Suspension (rear) | pushrod | ||||||||
| Engine |
1991-1992: Judd AV, 2,647 cc (161.5 cu in), V8 80°, turbocharged, Mid-engined, longitudinally mounted. 1992: Ilmor-Chevrolet 265A, 2,647 cc (161.5 cu in), V8 80°, turbocharged, Mid-engined, longitudinally mounted. 1993: Ilmor-Chevrolet 265C, 2,647 cc (161.5 cu in), V8 80°, turbocharged, Mid-engined, longitudinally mounted. | ||||||||
| Transmission | 6-speed manual | ||||||||
| Fuel | Methanol, supplied by Shell. | ||||||||
| Tyres |
Goodyear Eagle Speedway Special Radial 25.5in x 9.5in x 15in (front) 27in x 14.5in x 15in (rear). | ||||||||
| Competition history | |||||||||
| Notable entrants |
TrueSports King Racing RAL Group Rahal/Hogan Racing | ||||||||
| Notable drivers |
  | ||||||||
| Debut | 1991 Gold Coast IndyCar Grand Prix | ||||||||
| |||||||||
| Teams' Championships | 0 | ||||||||
| Constructors' Championships | 0 | ||||||||
| Drivers' Championships | 0 | ||||||||
The Rahal-Hogan RH-001 was a CART racing car used in the early 1990s. It was raced by Truesports, King Racing, RAL Group and Rahal-Hogan Racing during the 1991, 1992 and part of the 1993 IndyCar season.[2]
Background
In 1991, the RH-001 was designed and named the "TrueSports 91C". The car was designed by Don Halliday. He and Steve Horne set up the Truesports chassis program. Another chassis was completed during the 1991 season. When Truesports modified their 91C before the 1992 season, the two cars were renamed for 1992 as the "TrueSports 92C". Another chassis was completed during the 1992 season.
Prior to the end of the 1992 season, the Truesports racing team and their chassis program were sold to Rahal-Hogan Racing. The surviving 92Cs were renamed "Rahal-Hogan RH-001" for the 1993 season.
The RH-001 started in forty-three races, scoring no wins.
Development
Truesports 91C
The Truesports 91C was built in Hilliard, Ohio. Steve Horne and Don Halliday started the project in 1989. The 91C was designed around its driver, Scott Pruett. In 1990, new safety features were introduced following a pre-season testing crash.
Aerodynamics featured strongly in the design the 91C. However, Horne and Halliday had difficulty finding a wind tunnel. The Ohio State University allowed the team to open a wind tunnel formerly used by the U.S. Air Force at Port Columbus. It was six miles from the Truesports team's workshop. The 91C's main problem was its engine which was powered by a Judd VA V8 engine. The team raced their 1989 Lola T89/00 in the 1990 season in order to save money for the 91C. Truesports debuted the 91C in 1991 with a carbon monocoque with limited success.
Truesports 92C
Prior to the 1992 season, Truesports arranged to use the Ilmor-Chevrolet 265A engines. The 91C was renamed the "Truesports 92C". After a disappointing 1992 season, the team sold all the equipment, including their headquarters and chassis program to Rahal-Hogan Racing.
Rahal-Hogan RH-001
After the 1992 season, Rahal-Hogan Racing co-owners Bobby Rahal and Carl Hogan elected not to run Indy cars from Lola and instead designed their own chassis. The Truesports 92Cs were renamed "Rahal-Hogan RH-001". The RH-001 was fitted with a newer version of the Ilmor-Chevrolet 265C engine. however, the car was abandoned before the end of the 1993 season and the team used the Lola chassis. The Lola T93/00 was raced in 1993 from Milwaukee.
Racing history
TrueSports 91C
TrueSports
In the 1991 Gold Coast IndyCar Grand Prix, the first race of the season, Pruett finished in fifth position. Pruett retired in the next four races. He had a broken suspension at the Toyota Long Beach Grand Prix; a stalled car at the Valvoline 200; a broken transmission at the 75th Indianapolis 500 and an engine failure at the Miller Genuine Draft 200. Pruett finished seventeenth at the Valvoline Grand Prix of Detroit, and tenth at the Budweiser/G.I.Joe's 200. Pruett retired from the next two races with broken suspension at the Budweiser Grand Prix of Cleveland and engine failure at the Marlboro Grand Prix, Meadowlands. Pruett finished fourth at the Molson Indy Toronto then retired at the Marlboro 500 with clutch failure. He finished fifth at both the Texaco/Havoline Grand Prix of Denver and the Molson Indy Vancouver, then fourth at the Pioneer Electronics 200. Pruett retired from the next two races with a broken gearbox at the Texaco/Havoline 200 and after an accident at the Bosch Spark Plug Grand Prix. The final round of the 1991 season was the Toyota Monterey Grand Prix, where Pruett finished seventh.
King Racing
King Racing leased a 91C and used the Judd VA V8 engine for Geoff Brabham to compete at the 75th Indianapolis 500 in 1991. He retired from the race with an electrical fault and the team chose not to race in the remainder of the 1991 season.
TrueSports 92C
TrueSports
Pruett stayed with Truesports for the 1992 season and raced the Truesports 92C. A Chevrolet Indy A engine replaced the Judd VA V8 engine. The first race of the 1992 season was the Dailkyo IndyCar Grand Prix. Pruett retired with a broken transmission. He finished seventh at the Valvoline 200 and ninth at the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. Pruett retired with engine failure at the 76th Indianapolis 500 and after an accident at the ITT Automotive Grand Prix of Detroit. He finished tenth at the Budweiser/G.I.Joe's 200, eleventh at the Miller Genuine Draft 200 and sixth at the New England 200. Pruett retired at the Molson Indy Toronto after a crash. He finished fifth at the Marlboro 500, seventh at the Budweiser Grand Prix of Cleveland, ninth at the Texaco/Havoline 200 and fourth at the Molson Indy Vancouver. Pruett finished ninth at the Pioneer Electronics 200 and tenth at the Bosch Spark Plug Grand Prix. The final round of the 1992 season was the Toyota Monterey Grand Prix where Pruett finished fourteenth. Truesports left IndyCar at the end of the 1992 season and sold all of their assets, including their headquarters and the chassis program to Rahal-Hogan Racing, co-owned by the former Truesports driver Bobby Rahal and Carl Hogan.
RAL Group
RAL Group bought a 92C for Brian Till to drive in nine IndyCar races. They used the Judd VA V8 engine. The team's first race of 1992 was the third round, the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach where Till retired with engine failure. RAL Group did not race at the 76th Indianapolis 500. Till retired from the next two races. He had an accident at the ITT Automotive Grand Prix of Detroit and header problems at the 1992 Budweiser / G.I. Joe's 200. The team did not race at the Miller Genuine Draft 200, then entered the New England 200 where Till finished twelfth. He finished tenth at the Molson Indy Toronto. RAL Group did not race at the Marlboro 500, then entered the Budweiser Grand Prix of Cleveland where Till finished fifteenth. He was running well in the Texaco/Havoline 200 but retired when he ran out of fuel with one lap to go. The team did not race at the Molson Indy Vancouver, then entered the Pioneer Electronics 200 where Till finished fourteenth. RAL Group did not enter the Bosch Spark Plug Grand Prix, then at the final round of the 1992 season, the Toyota Monterey Grand Prix Till crashed. RAL Group left Indycar at the end of the 1992 season.
Rahal-Hogan RH-001
Rahal-Hogan Racing buy Truesports
At the end of 1992, Rahal-Hogan Racing bought the Truesports chassis program.[3] The team moved from Indianapolis to the Truesports facility at Hilliard, Ohio. The cars were renamed the "Rahal-Hogan RH-001" for the 1993 season. Bobby Rahal, the Rahal-Hogan Racing co-owner and driver began the season with the RH-001 with the Chevy Indy C engine but did not succeed.
Rahal-Hogan Racing's 1993 season
The first race of the 1993 season was the Australian FAI IndyCar Grand Prix where Rahal qualified thirteenth and finished sixth. In the Valvoline 200 Rahal retired with handling problems. Rahal finished in second place at the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. The team entered a second car for Mike Groff at the 77th Indianapolis 500 but both drivers failed to qualify.[4][5] The RH-001 chassis proved uncompetitive in superspeedway races. After Indy, the team raced a 1993 Lola T93/00 for the rest of the season while Groff continued in the RH-001. Groff retired with an electrical fault at the Miller Genuine Draft 200 and after a crash with two laps left in the ITT Automotive Grand Prix of Detroit. Groff finished ninth at the Texaco/Havoline Presents Budweiser/G. I. Joe's 200. The team used the T93/00 for the next three races (the Budweiser Grand Prix of Cleveland presented by Dairy Mart, Molson Indy Toronto and Marlboro 500). The team entered the RH-001 in the New England 200 and finished eleventh. The team abandoned the RH-001 before the Texaco/Havoline 200 in favour of the T93/00.
Complete Indy Car World Series results
(key) (Results in bold indicate pole position; results in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Entrants | Chassis | Engines | Tyres | Drivers | No. | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 16 | 17 | 18 | Points | D.C. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | TrueSports | TrueSports 91C | Judd AV V8 t | G | SFR | LBH | PHX | INDY | MIL | DET | POR | CLE | MEA | TOR | MCH | DEN | VAN | MDO | ROA | NAZ | LAG | ||||
|
11 | 5 | Ret | Ret | Ret | Ret | 17 | 8 | Ret | Ret | 4 | Ret | 5 | 5 | 4 | Ret | Ret | 7 | 67 | 10th | |||||
| King Racing | |
21 | Ret | 0 | 44th | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 1992 | TrueSports | TrueSports 92C | Chevrolet 265A V8 t | G | SFR | PHX | LBH | INDY | DET | POR | MIL | NHA | TOR | MCH | CLE | ROA | VAN | MDO | NAZ | LAG | |||||
|
10 | Ret | 7 | 9 | Ret | Ret | 10 | 11 | 6 | Ret | 5 | 7 | 9 | 4 | 9 | 10 | 14 | 62 | 11th | ||||||
| RAL Group | Judd AV V8 t | |
24 | Ret | Ret | Ret | 12 | 10 | 15 | Ret | 14 | Ret | 8 | 23rd | |||||||||||
| 1993 | Rahal/Hogan Racing | Rahal-Hogan RH-001 | Chevrolet 265C V8 t | G | SFR | PHX | LBH | INDY | MIL | DET | POR | CLE | TOR | MCH | NHA | ROA | VAN | MDO | NAZ | LAG | |||||
|
1 | 6 | Ret | 2 | DNQ | 1331 | 4th1 | ||||||||||||||||||
|
DNQ | 81 | 23rd1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 26 | Ret | Ret | 9 | 11 | |||||||||||||||||||||
^1 Includes points scored by the Lola T93/00.
References
- ↑ "Truesports 91C/92C". articles.latimes.com. Retrieved 8 January 2017.
- ↑ "Truesports and Ferrari". 8w.forix.com. Retrieved 8 January 2017.
- ↑ "Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing". www.rahal.com/. Retrieved 8 January 2017.
- ↑ "1993 Indianapolis 500" (PDF). newhavenscience.org. Retrieved 8 January 2017.
- ↑ "Missing the Indy 500". articles.latimes.com. Retrieved 8 January 2017.