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Alex Palou runs IR-28 at Sebring, records 43 laps and the new car’s first on-track pass

Alex Palou ran the new IR-28 chassis at Sebring International Raceway on 2026-10-12, completing 43 laps and making the car’s first on-track pass, INDYCAR reported. Alexander Rossi was scheduled to take over testing on 2026-10-13.

News BriefBy BusinessIndy News DeskCommentsPublished October 12, 2026 at 8:18 PM EDT

AI-generated illustration of the topic: Alex Palou runs IR-28 at Sebring, records 43 laps and the new car’s first on-track pass — AI illustration · Not a photograph of the reported event.

Palou completed 43 laps on the Sebring outer loop on 2026-10-12 in the IR‑28 — the car’s first test outside Indianapolis Motor Speedway — and passed a current-generation car driven by Kyle Kirkwood, which INDYCAR described as the IR‑28’s first on-track pass. Dallara and INDYCAR officials conducted system and performance checks during the session, INDYCAR reported.

INDYCAR also said Kyle Kirkwood (Andretti Global) and Scott McLaughlin (Team Penske) were at Sebring testing Firestone Firehawk tires. The release noted Palou’s earlier feedback from August–September IMS tests on driver comfort, braking and cooling was adopted and produced notable improvements. Alexander Rossi of Chevrolet-powered ECR was reported to take over testing duties on 2026-10-13.

WHY IT MATTERS

The IR‑28 is the new IndyCar chassis scheduled to replace the current car, and INDYCAR says it will be introduced at the start of the 2028 season. Testing at Sebring matters because the circuit’s rough surfaces and mix of asphalt and concrete expose suspension, cooling and chassis durability in ways smoother tracks do; INDYCAR flagged Sebring’s bumpy nature as a reason teams use it for development.

A first on-track pass by the IR‑28 during mixed running with a current car is a practical milestone: it shows the prototype can be driven in traffic and be compared directly to existing equipment, helping engineers evaluate aero balance, braking behavior and driver visibility in real-world conditions. Palou’s feedback being incorporated—particularly driver cooling and braking comfort—illustrates how driver observations in early tests feed iterative design tweaks.

Next items to watch, per INDYCAR: Alexander Rossi taking over testing on 2026-10-13, further tire work by teams and Firestone, and additional IR‑28 evaluations following the August–September IMS shakedowns as the series progresses toward the chassis’ planned 2028 debut.

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Sources

indycar.com: Shake It Up: Alex Palou Puts IR-28 Through Pounding Paces at Sebring - INDYCAR.com ↗

Linked source published October 12, 2026. A sourced news brief; no independent staff reporting is implied. Prepared with AI assistance from the linked research; material claims remain attributed in the article.

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