Magneti Marelli celebrates Simon Pagenaud's victory in the inaugural Grand Prix of Indianapolis in the Verizon IndyCar series.

AUBURN HILLS, Mich., May 14, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Simon Pagenaud wrote his page in the Indianapolis Motor Speedway history books along with Schmidt Peterson Motorsports (SPM) when he won the inaugural Grand Prix of Indianapolis on Saturday, May 10 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Pagenaud and SPM found the perfect balance between speed and fuel conservation in the No. 77 Honda-powered car to reach victory lane.

The single seat no.77 is sponsored by Magneti Marelli and equipped with Magneti Marelli Motorsport powertrain technologies for the Honda engine.


Pagenaud has finished in the top five in all four Verizon IndyCar Series races this season. That consistency has placed him third in the championship standings, just six points behind leader Will Power.

It was the third career Verizon IndyCar Series victory for Pagenaud and SPM.

Pagenaud's Grand Prix of Indianapolis victory celebration will be short but sweet as practice begins for the 98th Indianapolis 500, scheduled for Sunday, May 25.

Magneti Marelli 2014 motorsport season

Magneti Marelli also confirmed its widespread presence in 2014 international two and four-wheel competitions with technologies and innovations. Magneti Marelli Motorsport division works side by side with major international teams providing solutions aimed at the transfer of technology from racetrack cars to road cars.

In the United States, Magnet Marelli supports the Verizon IndyCar Series; the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA), where it sponsors the Johnson & Johnson Dodge Dart Pro Stock; and the American Tudor United Sports Car Championship.

For the Verizon IndyCar Series, Magneti Marelli is the technical partner for the Schmidt Peterson Motorsports (SPM) team, featuring the vehicle piloted by Simon Pagenaud, and is also a technical partner with Honda Performance Development with the aim of developing powertrain and electronic components.

Internationally, Magneti Marelli supports a variety of Championship Series' in two and four wheel competitions, including heavy involvement in Formula 1.

Additionally, Magneti Marelli supports the World Rally Championship, and the FIA World Touring Car Championship, where Magneti Marelli is the official partner to the Citroën team, featuring the debut of Sebastien Loeb this year.

Magneti Marelli also has a presence in China, supporting the China Touring Car Championship, and in Brazil, the Stock Car Brazil championship has chosen the Magneti Marelli electro-actuated transmission for all cars.

For two-wheel competitions, Magneti Marelli is deeply involved in the MotoGP championship. Additionally, Magneti Marelli Motorsport is official supplier of key components to Yamaha and Ducati.

Magneti Marelli is official supplier to the Ducati team, and supplies components to the Kawasaki team and Aprilia, EBR and MV Agusta motorcycles. The Supersport category also features Magneti Marelli Motorsport components for engine control.

In the U.S., Magneti Marelli is involved in the national championships, specifically in the American Motorcycle Association Superbike series, supplying components to the EBR, Honda, KTM, Suzuki, and Yamaha teams. For the U.S.-based NHRA), Magneti Marelli supplies the Pro Stock Motorcycle category.

Lastly, for automobiles designed by university students competing in the Formula Student China and in the International Formula ATA, Magneti Marelli supplies motorsport components, dataloggers, Wintax analysis systems and electronic engine control units (ECU).

Magneti Marelli technologies

For all its motorsports endeavours, Magneti Marelli supplies leading edge technologies designed to improve overall performance. In testing its components and electronic systems under the rigorous conditions of the motorsports world, Magneti Marelli is able to ensure that these components are ready to transition to passenger vehicles.

Technologies that Magneti Marelli supplies include:

Mechanical Systems

• Ignition components
• Gasoline Direct Injection components, including injectors and pumps with gasoline pressure up to 500 bar, high voltage (HV) coils and electronic control units (ECU) for injector control
• Alternators
• Fuel pumps
• Pressure regulators (to all MotoGP teams for the fourth year in a row)
• Hydraulic pilot control of the transmission

Electronics

• Engine control Units / Systems (exclusive supplier to MotoGP)
• Displays
• Data loggers for the Prototype Challenge category.
• The V2X Telemetry system, providing constant connection of the car not only to the infrastructures but also to other cars, based on an evolution of the Wi-Fi protocol that allows for two-way data and voice transmission, due to the wide band
• The K-ERS regenerative braking system for Formula 1 Hybrid Systems
• More efficient sensors and actuators with the development of multi-voltage systems (in F1, and applied for the first time on the road with the LaFerrari).
• Speed sensors
• Wintax analysis tools, a top ranking of PC applications for data acquisition and analysis in Motorsport competitions.

Magneti Marelli designs and produces advanced systems and components for the automotive industry. With its 85 production units, 12 R&D centers and 26 application centers in 19 countries, about 38,000 employees and a turnover of 6 billion Euros in 2013, the group supplies all leading carmakers in Europe, North and South America and the Far East. Its business areas include: Electronic Systems, Lighting; Powertrain, Suspension Systems and Shock Absorbers, Exhaust Systems, Aftermarket Parts & Services, Plastic Components and Modules, Motorsport. Magneti Marelli is part of Fiat Spa.

SOURCE Magneti Marelli