IndyCars - The off-season: Series news and comment until the March 2014 kick-off

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Stuff we love…Team Penske’s Will Power checks his social media on November 6th…

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https://twitter.com/12WillPower/status/1192234357576077313

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We love it!

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Another Silly Season victim as Spencer Pigot loses his ride at ECR…

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First, it was James Hinchcliffe losing his ride at Arrow McLaren SP. Now, another stalwart falls.The word is that Spencer Pigot will not be returning to Ed Carpenter Racing in 2020, after 1 partial and 2 full seasons with the team. This is definite. Said Pigot of the news, “I’m appreciative of the opportunity ECR gave me. I understand the reasons they had to go in a different direction, and wish them all the best.”

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Spencer Pigot

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The “different direction” Pigot is referring to is due to funding, it seems, as ECR had asked the 26-year-old Floridian to beat the bushes and find some sponsorship to aid in keeping him in the # 21 car, but he was unable to come up with anything.

Pigot was perhaps the most successful Road to Indy driver to date, with a Vice-Championship in USF2000, 2 Winterfest Championships and the 2014 Indy Pro 2000 title, followed by the 2015 Indy Lights title. Since then, his best finish in IndyCars has been a P2 at Iowa in 2018. Pigot has also been very fast in IMSA racing and should he not be able to get a ride in IndyCars in 2020, it is likely he will land in SportsCars, somewhere.

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So, who is in line for his seat in the # 21 car? ECR has TWICE tested 2019 Indy Lights Vice Champion Rinus VeeeKay and the Nederlander was hugely impressive both times. In addition, he has the sponsorship that Pigot lacked, as Jumbo, one of the Netherland’s biggest retailers, has been VeeKay’s sponsor for years, now.
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Rinus VeeKay

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In addition to Rinus, it is believed that super-sub Conor Daly is eyeing a possible season of IndyCar in one of the ECR cars. He has limited sponsorship from the Air Force, but that may be enough to at least get him the road course and street course ride in the team’s # 20 car, which is always driven on ovals by Carpenter himself. That partial seat was taken by 2016 Indy Lights Champion Ed Jones in 2019, but he will not be returning to the team in 2020 - probably for the same reason Pigot will not.

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Conor Daly

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As of now the only CONFIRMED driver for ECR in 2020 is Ed Carpenter in the # 20 for the oval races only.

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See that Bell helmet on the head of Pippa Mann at the 2019 Indy 500?..

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That helmet rode with Pippa from her P30 start to her P16 finish in the Clauson-Marshall # 39 Chevrolet, finishing on the lead lap and ahead of Scott Dixon, Helio Castroneves, Graham Rahal, Sage Karam, Jack Harvey, Colton Herta and Oriol Servia, among others. Pippa loved that helmet and that finish - One of her best efforts at the 500.
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But last night, she willingly put it up for auction at the Indiana Donor Network Angel Fund Gala to raise funds for the Driven2SaveLives organ donor effort in Indiana.

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Pippa looking rather fetching at the gala with husband Robert Gue - aka “Himself” - an engineer for Arrow McLaren SP.

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How’d the helmet do at auction? It went for over $5,000 - the highest-priced piece to go. How about that!!

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Pippa and the winners of her lid

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The 36-year-old Brit has a number of races lined up in the off season, including a ride in the Shift Up Now / Round 3 Racing Porsche Boxster with Sarah Montgomery, Loni Unser and Mike Smith next weekend at Barber Motorsports Park in the ChampCar Endurance Series 8-hour and 7-hour enduros, Saturday and Sunday, respectively.

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We’ll keep an eye on the effort.

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He’s IN!..Rinus VeeKay gets a full-time ride with Ed Carpenter Racing in 2020…

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Announced finally on Wednesday, the 19-year-old 2019 Indy Lights Vice-Champion from Hoofddorp, The Netherlands, has been secured by the Indiana-based IndyCar team to drive the # 21 Chevrolet for the entire season.

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Rinus VeeKay

Said Rinus, “I’m so happy! It’s a dream come true and something we have worked extremely hard for over the last couple of years. To step up from USF2000 to the NTT IndyCar Series in three years is really special.”
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IT IS really special. Coming out of karting, VeeKay had only 1 year of USF2000 (Vice-Champion), 1 year of Indy Pro 2000 (Champion), and 1 year of Indy Lights (Vice Champion) before getting tapped to drive an IndyCar. He had 36 podiums in only 48 Road to Indy starts - a rate of 75%. He also had 16 WINS in 48 starts - an incredible 33% rate - He WON every 3rd race he started.

People are saying,“Meteoric!” and they are right. But he is NOT the only meteor who will fly in 2020. Also on the grid will be Oliver Askew who also got there in only 3 seasons of Road to Indy, Pato O’Ward who got there with 3 seasons of Road to Indy and Colton Herta who got there with 3 seasons of Road to Indy - meteors all, with Askew the old man at 22 years old.

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left to right Oliver Askew, Pato O’Ward and Colton Herta

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They will join three other recent Indy Lights drivers with multiple WINS in the series - Felix Rosenqvist, Zach Veach and Jack Harvey, all with full seasons of IndyCar ahead.

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left to right Felix Rosenqvist, Zach Veach and Jack Harvey

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Other possible drivers - not yet confirmed - will be Matheus Leist and Santino Ferrucci. The oldest driver mentioned is Jack Harvey at 26. IndyCar Is experiencing a spectacular youth movement that promises to keep the racing among the most exciting in motorsports and we are thrilled to see it all unfold.

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Matheus Leist (left) and Santino Ferrucci - possibles for 2020

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BIG Silly Season news - Sebastien Bourdais is OUT at Dale Coyne Racing…

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Confirmed today, the 4-time IndyCar champion has been let go from the Plainfield, Illinois team which in the case of Bourdais, was officially partnered with former champion Jimmy Vasser and his business partner James “Sully” Sullivan. It was Vasser who confirmed the news, initially. While everyone is being amicable and praiseworthy of past successes, it is clear that funding for the car is the primary reason for the change, as Sebastien doesn’t have his own sponsor and sponsorship from Sealmaster, his 2019 sponsor, is apparently at an end.

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Sebastien Bourdais

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Bourdais is the 3rd veteran to find himself without a ride as the off-season goes on, joining James Hinchcliffe and Spencer Pigot on the outside looking in. But in fact his being let go MAY open the door for Hinchcliffe to find a home for 2020 at Dale Coyne Racing w/Vasser Sullivan, driving the # 18 Honda. Hinchcliffe may have sponsorship from Honda of Canada - enough to get him in the car.

James Hinchcliffe - a door opens?

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Bourdais, like Hinchcliffe, actually still has a year left on his IndyCar contract but like James, will not be allowed to drive. Knowing this was coming, the Frenchman made a move in the last two weeks and has landed on his feet. Sebastien has had years of great success in SportsCar appearances during his IndyCar career and he has parlayed that into a seat for 2020 at JDC-Miller Motorsports in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship sharing their # 85 Cadillac DPi-V.R. in the DPi class with veteran and former champion Joao Barbosa. France’s Loic Duval will join the pair at the four Michelin Endurance Cup rounds of the season.

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The JDC-Miller Motorsports Cadillac DPi-V.R. - Seb’s new ride for 2020

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The car will have sponsorship from Mustang Sampling, which has for years been the sponsor of the Action Express # 5 Caddy, but is moving to JDC-Miller for 2020. The combination of two champion-caliber drivers and Mustang Sampling should produce a STRONG squad all year long.

Joao Barbosa (left) and Loic Duval

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This news doesn’t affect the ride of Santino Ferrucci at DCR in the # 19 Honda, which is still looking good, though not yet confirmed. Ferrucci brings his own sponsorship from Cly-Del and David Yurman.

Santino Ferrucci

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TWO podiums for Pippa this weekend…

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IndyCar driver Pippa Mann drove in both rounds of the ChampCar Endurance Series races at Barber Motorsports Park over the weekend - an 8-hour race on Saturday and a 7-hour race on Sunday - driving for Shift Up Now in the team R3R Porsche Boxster # 601 with co-drivers Loni Unser, Sarah Montgomery and Mike Smith. The gang secured a P3 on Saturday and a P2 on Sunday.

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The Shift Up Now squad, left to right - Sarah Montgomery, Pippa Mann, Loni Unser and Mike Smith with the # 601 Boxster by R3R.

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It rained for the first half of the Saturday race and Mike was the starter for the team followed by Pippa. By the time Global MX-5 Cup driver Loni Unser got in the car the rain had ceased and they were holding onto P3. By the time Montgomery was driving the track was dry and Sarah, another Global MX-5 Cup driver, set the fastest lap of the race and brought the Porsche to the podium.

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Pippa in the rain at Barber

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Sunday was dry but a bigger challenge for positions. The ladies and Mike went from P6 to P2, with Sarah doing double duty by also starting in the R3R # 602 sister car.
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Shift Up Now was started by race fan and amateur club driver Lynn Schultz Kehoe with the aim of promoting women in motorsports. As someone with the same aim, Pippa has been associated with the team in several events in the past.

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The whole Shift Up Now team celebrates. Pippa’s in the middle. To her left are Sarah and Loni. To her right is Mike. To his right is Shift Up Now founder Lynn Schultz Kehoe:

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Next up for Pippa will be two more weekends of racing, as she heads to India to join the Mumbai Falcons racing team in the new X1 Racing League. The Falcons will field two Formula BMWs to be driven by 5 drivers in rotation. Mann will be teaming with Mikkel Jensen, Kush Maini, Sohil Shah and Karthik Tharani, who is a 2016 Road to Indy Shootout participant, thanks to his 2015 MRF Formula 1600 National Championship.

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Karthik Tharani - a Road to Indy tie-in

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Rossi has another scary Baja 1000…

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IndyCar driver Alexander Rossi participated in his 2nd Baja 1000 over the last weekend and had moments of both glory and disappointment, as the Honda Ridgeline truck he and Jeff Proctor raced in Class 7 failed to finish the race after leading.

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Alexander Rossi in the Ridgeline early on

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Proctor handed the truck off to Rossi in 3rd place and the IndyCar driver and Baja sophomore then pulled the truck up to P1 in class, holding it for about 90 miles when disaster struck as Rossi hit a hill at the wrong angle and rolled the Honda onto its roof. The roll bars did the job of protecting Rossi and co-driver / navigator Evan Weller from serious harm. The truck was quickly righted and Rossi rejoined, although well out of 1st place.

Between the two drivers, and over several hours, they were able to fight back and were once again in contention for the lead when team leader Proctor decided it just wasn’t safe enough to keep the Honda at speed over the difficult course, made all the more treacherous by the monsoon-like rains that had delayed the start of the race by a day.

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The battered Honda

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Last year in Rossi’s Baja debut he famously missed a head-on collision with an errant local driving the opposite way on the fast course, yet the team finished P2 in class. This year his roll-over ended up costing him a bunch of bruises and eventually the finish of the race, but it hasn’t deterred Rossi and Proctor from already planning a similar assault in 2020.

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Alexander Rossi

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[MarkyS]

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And ditto from us at the Off-Season thread!
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Katherine Legge lands on her feet in IMSA…

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IndyCar driver Katherine Legge has been a star in IMSA competition for a number of years now, earning several WINS and the 2018 Vice-Championship in the GTD class of the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. She was driving for Meyer Shank Racing in their 2-car Acura NSX GT3 effort when that happened and for a number of years now, but that program has been scaled back to just one car so far for 2020, leaving Legge looking for a ride.

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Katherine Legge

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Well, she found one and it’s a beauty. Katherine will drive in GTD class with former GTD-class Champion Christina Nielsen again, just as she did in 2019 for MSR, but now for the successful Grasser Racing Team in one of their Lamborghini Huracan GT3s. She will be a part of the new effort called the GEAR Grasser team. GEAR stands for “Girl Empowerment Around Racing,” and much like Shift Up Now, mentioned in post # 776 above, it is intended to inspire more women to get into motorsports, according to founder Kara Kenney.

When Kenney found that both Legge and Nielsen were available, she quickly pulled together the deal with German team Grasser to field a Lambo for the gals for the whole season. Grasser is a two-time WINNER of the Rolex 24 at Daytona in class, as well as one WIN at the Mobile 12 Hours of Sebring.

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The GRT Lamborghini at Daytona in 2019 for the WIN

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Making the deal even sweeter is the fact that at the four Michelin Endurance Cup races - Daytona, Sebring, the Six Hours at the Glen and the Petit Le Mans - the team will get the services of former IndyCar driver Ana Beatriz, (aka “Bia” Figueiredo), just like they did when the gals were driving for Heinricher Racing with Meyer Shank Racing in 2019.

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Left to right, Legge, Beatriz and Nielsen

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No word yet on whether or not IndyCar driver Simona de Silvestro will join the trio again for Daytona, as she did in 2019. The Swiss driver is leaving Supercars in 2020 to race for Porsche in an as yet unspecified GT series, while also lending her time to the make’s Formula E effort as a test driver. Her announcement of where that GT racing will be should be in December. It MIGHT even be in IMSA.

Simona de Silvestro

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Christian Bogle to return to Jay Howard Driver Development in 2020…

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In 2019 Louisianan Christian Bogle ran in both the FIA F4 United States championship and the USF2000 championship for JHDD in both cases, culminating with two WINS at Circuit of the Americas in F4 in November. (see post # 767). Announced recently, Bogle will do exactly the same in 2020 for the team, competing fully in both series for a sophomore year.

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Christian Bogle

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In addition, JHDD has recently acquired two Indy Lights chassis and they have tasked Bogle to be their test driver in them at the big Indy Lights series test at Sebring International Raceway, this December 11 - 12.

Said Christian, “I am super excited to be able to have the opportunity to test an Indy Lights car! Coming from F4 and USF2000, it will be a pretty large jump but I’m sure it will be one of the most enjoyable things I’ve done to date! With the additional testing in Indy Lights, I’m hoping to see that help my performances in F4 and USF2000.”

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An Indy Lights car in Bogle’s JHDD colors

Jay Howard is not planning yet to compete in the Lights in 2020, but rather is planning to ready the team for an assault on the series in 2021.

Said he, “Not only is it fantastic to welcome Christian back to the team, but it’s also a big day for JHDD as we add two Indy Lights cars to our program, Christian showed remarkable progression throughout this season, and we believe adding an Indy Lights testing program to the mix will continue to challenge and further his development. It will also allow us to develop as a team, and by having two cars on hand we’re making it clear we want to run both of them for testing throughout the year, with an eye on expanding full time into the Indy Lights category for 2021.”

Jay Howard

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There is no question that regular runs in the tub of Lights car will be great preparation for Christian in all forms of racing he may encounter. On November 25th he got his first outing in the car at Palm Beach International, and declared that he is “…absolutely LOVING this car!”

No doubt!

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Update on Robert Wickens via CBC last night…

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Canadian network CBC’s Jamie Strashin had a great interview with IndyCar driver Robert Wickens on “The National”, recounting his injury and his long road to rehabilitation - a journey he is still on. Take a look:

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Life after surviving an Indy Car crash

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Robert and Karli

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Pippa Mann and the other Mumbai Falcons - WINNERS!..
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Last weekend IndyCar driver Pippa Mann drove in the first of two weekends of racing for the Mumbai Falcons team in the new X1 Racing League series in India, driving their two formula BMWs in rotations with teammates Sohil Shah, Kush Maini, Mikkel Jensen and Karthik Therani, and competing against 5 other teams of 5 drivers each - Each team representing an Indian city, like a ball club might.

On Friday Pippa shared the # 1 car with Kush Maini at Buddh International Circuit at Greater Noida in Dehli. They drove to a P3 in Race 1 and a P2 in Race 2. The P2 was later lost on a technicality, but they know they are fast.

Pippa and Kush at Buddh with their BMW

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Saturday was another two races. Race 1 was again a sprint with two of the team sharing each car and Falcons Mikkel Jenson and Kush Maini WON! Race 2 was effectively a race car relay race, with 1 team car on track at once, and with all 5 drivers across the 2 team cars, and the Falcons as a whole WON that too!

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The Mumbai Falcons - left to right, front - Mikkel Jensen, Pippa Mann and Kush Maini. Left to right, rear - Karthik Therani and Sohil Shah - two WINS on Saturday.

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The X1 Racing League heads to Chennai next weekend for 4 more races over two days. We’ll let you know how the Falcons do.

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A weekend ago, Yuven Sundaramoorthy scored his first WIN in the MRF Challenge…

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The 16-year-old American is running in the MRF Challenge Formula 2000 series over the off-season, to keep sharp for his sophomore season of USF2000 in 2020, where he will again be driving for Pabst Racing. (see post # 770).

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Yuven for the WIN

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The inaugural race weekend of 5 races at Dubai Autodrome was a complete mixed bag for the Wisconsin teen, with a P7 in Round 1, a DNF in Round 2, a P5 in Round 3, his WIN in Round 4 and a P6 in the final round.

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Yuven in his Dallara / Renault MRF 2.0 liter car.

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The BIG WINNER for the series at Dubai was Belgium’s MIchelangelo Amendola, who came up with three WINS and two P2s for the weekend. Amendola is a veteran in MRF Challenge, having finished 5th in the points last year, and competing in the year before, too.

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Amendola, (right) with 2019 MRF Champion Jamie Chadwick (center) and Patrick Pasma on the podium for the final round at Madras Motor Race Track, Chennai, India, last February

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The next 5 rounds for the MRF Challenge will be at the Bahrain International Circuit on December 12-14 before moving on to the grand finale in Chennai, India in February next year. So far, Sundaramoorthy has declared the series to be, “…a blast!”

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Eduardo Barrichello to become a "Speed Boy"in 2020…

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Announced today, Augie Pabst will field the 17-year-old son of driving great Rubens Barrichello in the # 22 Tatuus USF-17 for a sophomore season of USF2000. This is the 3rd get for Pabst Racing, as they have previously announced Colin Kaminsky for Indy Pro 2000 and Yuven Sundaramoorthy who will be Eduardo’s teammate on the USF2000 squad. (see post # 770). Eduardo drove for first Miller Vinatierri and then finally DEForce Racing in his 2019 rookie year, earning 7 TOP TENS and 2 TOP FIVES.

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Eduardo Barrichello

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Said Eduardo, “I can’t wait to drive the #22 Pabst car, and start working with the whole crew. I am really looking forward to having an amazing year with their support, and I am sure I will learn a lot from the team. My goal for this year is to always be battling for podiums and wins, and to also have a lot of fun!”

I think that having Yuven as a teammate this year will be really good, as we [have] known each other for quite a long time. We raced karts together, and that will make us push each other to the limit every time we hit the track.”

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It’s no surprise that Pabst pegged Barrichello as a good teammate for Sundaramoorthy, as the two were virtually TIED in excellent performances during the Chris Griffis Memorial Test in October. (see post # 762).

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IndyCar driver Simona de Silvestro is heading back to Europe in 2020…

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“The Swiss Missile” will be heading to competition near home for 2020 after three years of racing down under in the Virgin Australia Supercar Championship series, as Porsche has announced that she will compete for them in the ADAC GT Masters series, which is mostly run in Germany. She will fit this in with her duties as Porsche’s test driver for their Formula E effort in 2020

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Simona with the Porsche Formula E car

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Simona will co-drive with Klaus Bachler in a Porsche 911 GT3 R for TEAM 75 Bernhard, owned by Timo Bernhard. They will be competing against other factory-backed cars from Audi, Ferrari, Corvette, BMW, Mercedes, Lamborghini and Aston Martin. Tracks run outside of Germany include Zandvoort in The Netherlands, Autodrom Most in the Czech Republic and the Red Bull Ring in Austria, so Sim will be within driving distance to Switzerland all season long.

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Simona with her fellow Porsche factory drivers

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The ADAC racing will begin in the Spring, which would allow her another shot at the Rolex 24 at Daytona in January, teaming with Katherine Legge, Ana Beatriz and Christina Nielsen, (see post # 779), but it is not likely that Porsche would let her drive for anyone else. This could be a lot of fun for her, this year.

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Catching up with the 2019 nuptials…

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We’ve had five different weddings of IndyCar drivers in the end of 2019:

First, James Hinchcliffe and GF Becky Dalton, (his high school prom date), were married in early August.

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James and Becky

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Next, Robert Wickens and long-time GF Karli Woods were married in late September.

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Robert and Karli

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Then, 2019 Indy 500 WINNER Simon Pagenaud married his long-time GF Hailey McDermott on October 25th. Yes, their famous dog Norman Pagenaud was in attendance, but there is no truth to the rumor that he was the best man.

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Hailey and Simon

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Next, 2019 IndyCar Champion Josef Newgarden married his long-time GF Ashley Welch on October 28th.

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Ashley and Josef

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Finally, Gabby Chaves married long-time GF Gabby (Gabriella) Piccarreta in early November. No pictures from the private ceremony but Gabby and Gabby have been one of the most popular couples in the paddock for years.

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Gabby with Gabby and friends

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All five of these lovely gals have beautified racing paddocks for quite a long time now, and it’s great to see them finally get their man across that finish line! CONGRATS ALL!

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He’s IN!!.. Conor Daly gets the 2nd seat at Ed Carpenter Racing for 2020…

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We must be pretty good at predictifying because back in post # 772 we speculated that the three drivers for Ed Carpenter in 2020 would likely be young Rinus VeeKay full time in the # 21 Chevy with super-sub Conor Daly doing the road and street courses in the # 20, sponsored by the Air Force, and with Ed doing the ovals in the car, and that is EXACTLY what has come to pass.

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Conor Daly

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Said the veteran from Noblesville, Indiana of the news, “I am so thankful for the loyalty the U.S. Air Force has demonstrated along with the faith in me to get the job done. This has been an incredible relationship to see grow and get stronger as we continue to add races to our program. I couldn’t be happier to be getting one more step closer to full-time Indy car competition.”

“As an Indiana kid, it just feels right to be getting a chance with Ed Carpenter Racing. This team has done such an incredible job over the years, and I have a tremendous amount of respect for Ed and this group. I look forward to entering a season feeling fully prepared with simulator time and testing for the first time in several years.”

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Making it even better is the fact that Ed will field a 3rd car for Daly at the Indy 500, where he finished P10 last year in a one-off drive. That makes for a total of 13 races for Daly in 2020.

The pairing with VeeKay will be great for the young rookie Nederlander as he will get the benefit of teaming with oval-meister Carpenter and road and street expert Daly - Also no slouch on ovals.

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Ed Carpenter (left) and Rinus VeeKay

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No doubt, this is a very competent squad. If they get the engineering right, ECR could return to race-WINNING ways in 2020.

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Big things happening at HMD Motorsports for 2020…

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The team that came into being as BN Racing and changed their name to HMD Motorsports in 2019 have had a number of shake ups since the 2019 season ended, not the least of which is their decision to concentrate ONLY on Indy Lights for 2020. The team is selling all their USF2000 and Indy Pro 2000 chassis as a result, and have acquired a 3rd Dallara IL-15 Lights chassis, instead.

Driver-wise, They have already signed David Malukas to a sophomore season of the Lights, following his rookie ride for them in 2019, where he earned 8 TOP FIVES and 2 podiums, following a great 2018 season in Indy Pro 2000, where he took 3 WINS for the team, which has been his home since his Road to Indy journey started in 2017.

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David Malukas

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18-year-old Malukas will likely be their driver for the big Indy Lights test at Sebring, this Wednesday and Thursday. Also testing for the team at Sebring will be 17-year-old Canadian Antonio Serravalle, the multi-time karting champion who has spent the last two years in Indy Pro 2000 driving for family team Pserra Racing.

Said Antonio of the test, “It’s pretty exciting to have this opportunity and with a quality team such as HMD Motorsports. They were arguably the turnaround team of 2019 and made a huge impression during the latter stages of the season. They have hired a pair of high-quality engineers, and I am confident they will help me get up to speed. This will be my maiden voyage in an Indy Lights car so I will be looking to get up to speed as quickly as possible on Wednesday of next week and then push the limits more on Thursday.”

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Antonio Serravalle

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No word yet on the fate of the team’s most exciting 2019 standard-bearer, Englishman Toby Sowery, who gave HMD Motorsports 13 TOP FIVES, 7 podiums and their first team WIN at Portland. Toby ended his rookie season 3rd in the points and it would be a shame if he can’t find a ride for a sophomore season.

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Toby Sowery

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On Wednesday and Thursday the Indy Lights come to Sebring International Raceway…

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…where they will hold a series test. Though going in the books as a 2019 series test, this will actually be the first test for the 2020 season and the driver roster reflects that fact, with only 1 returning veteran scheduled to appear.

The series will use what is known as the “Club Course” at Sebring. 11 turns at 1.8 miles, and with its own pit lane, it wanders through the track section that used to be base housing when Sebring was Hendricks Army Airfield, a World War II training base for B-17s of the U.S. Army Air Corps.

In the map below the Club Course runs from the top of Turn 3 all the way through to Turn 13B, where a 90-degree right turn will put the drivers back to Turn 3. Start/Stop is near Turn 9:

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So far, we have 9 drivers listed for 5 teams slated to test. They are: [R] denotes rookie
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Rasmus Lindh [R], HMD Motorsports # 2 - Multiple European karting Championships; 2018 Vice-Champion of USF2000; 2019 Vice Champion of Indy Pro 2000.

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Flinn Lazier [R]. Belardi Auto Racing # 4 - 2018 SCCA National Runoffs Formula Enterprise 2 Champion; 2019 SCCA National Runoffs Formula Atlantics Champion; 2018 Road to Indy Shootout participant.

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Christian Bogle [R], Jay Howard Driver Development # 7 - 2019 drove for JHDD in both USF2000 and F4 United States; 2 WINS in F4 U.S.

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Rob Megennis, Andretti Autosport # 27 - Drove in USF2000 in 2016 and 2017; drove in Indy Pro 2000 in 2018; drove for Andretti in Indy Lights in 2019, with 6 podiums including 1 WIN.

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Kyle Kirkwood [R], Andretti Autosport # 28 - Multiple national karting Championships; 2016 Team USA Scholarship; 2016 Road to Indy Shootout finalist; 2017 F4 United States Champion; 2018 USF2000 Champion; 2018 F3 Americas Champion; 2019 Indy Pro 2000 Champion.

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Danial Frost [R], Andretti Autosport # 68 - Multiple WINS in various junior formula series in Asia; drove for Exclusive Autosport in partial season of USF2000 in 2018 and full season of Indy Pro 2000 in 2019, with 6 podiums and 2 WINS.

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Antonio Serravalle [R]. HMD Motorsports # 79 - Multiple karting titles in Canada and the U.S.; drove in Indy Pro 2000 for Exclusive Autosport in a partial schedule for 2018 and for Pserra Racing in 2019.

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Nikita Lastochkin [R], Exclusive Autosport # 90 - Long-time veteran of the Road to Indy with two seasons of USF2000 and three seasons of Indy Pro 2000, with multiple podiums; drove for Exclusive Autosport in 2019 with 5 TOP FIVES.

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Tristan Charpentier [R], Andretti Autosport # 98 - competed in F4 France in 2016 and British F3 in 2017 and 2018 with 2 podiums.

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Notable:

• NOT listed here is the only guy who is CONFIRMED for 2020 and that is Lights veteran David Malukas for HMD Motorsports. Apparently, HMD has decided to allow Antonio Serravalle to use Dave’s car for the test, as they know what they have already with the fast Malukas, and they definitely also want to test Rasmus Lindh in their other ready car.

• The only veteran Lights driver testing here is Rob Megennis who drove for Andretti in 2019. Rob is expected to return to the squad for 2020 but no confirmation has yet been given.

• Christian Bogle will be driving for JHDD in 2020 but in USF2000 and F4 US - not in the Lights, as JHDD will not be competing in the Lights until 2021, if all goes to plan. Bogle is simply helping them collect data this week, while sharpening his skills.

• If Kyle Kirkwood signs with Andretti for 2020 he will immediately be the odds-on favorite for the title. The team and the driver are both that good. The guys who could give him a run for it however are Rasmus Lindh who has TWICE been Vice-Champion to Kirkwood’s titles, and Rob Megennis - an Indy Lights race WINNER from 2019.

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Absent - David Malukas

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The schedule calls for 3 tests on Wednesday with 2 more on Thursday. The weather is expected to be temperatures in the high 70s with a chance of rain on Wednesday and a lesser chance on Thursday. Rain will not stop the test, though lightning could.

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We’ll let you know how things shake out.

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M

[MarkyS]

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Wednesday at Sebring - the Indy Lights begin their testing…

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…and we have the results. The lights held three test sessions over the day and the rain held off, allowing all 9 cars on track to push hard. Each session got progressively faster as each driver and each team got more and more familiar with what the Sebring Club Course demands.That means that everyone was fastest in the 3rd session so that is what we will present here.

Here was the order of speed for the T-3 session, with times for the TOP FIVE: [R] denotes rookie

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1 - Danial Frost [R], Andretti Autosport - time of 00:56.8616s for a speed of 105.730mph

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2 - Robert Megennis, Andretti Autosport - time of 00:56.8842s for a speed of 105.688mph

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3 - Nikita Lastochkin [R], Exclusive Autosport - time of 00:56.8891s for a speed of 105.679mph

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4 - Rasmus Lindh [R], HMD Motorsports - time of 00:56.9347s for a speed of 105.595mph

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5 - Kyle Kirkwood [R], Andretti Autosport - time of 00:57.0188s for a speed of 105.439mph

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6 - Tristan Charpentier [R], Andretti Autosport
7 - Flinn Lazier [R], Belardi Auto Racing
8 - Antonio Serravalle [R], HMD Motorsports
9 - Christian Bogle [R], Jay Howard Driver Development

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Notable:

• Danial’s time was the fastest of the test, so far, but in that final session the TOP EIGHT drivers are separated by a mere 0.52 seconds - incredibly tight through the whole field! The 9th driver, Christian Bogle, is a USF2000 driver and is really only shaking out the car for JHDD, and will not be in the Lights in 2020.

• Rob Megennis topped the T-1 session and Kyle Kirkwood topped the T-2 session, so as expected, Andretti Autosport is killing it, so far.

• On total numbers from the day Rob Megennis is topping the test, marginally, over Danial Frost.

• The surprise here is the P3 by Nikita Lastochkin. The Moscow-born driver is always competent, with TOP TENS in races a regularity and TOP FIVES not unusual, but here, he is putting down very impressive times.

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Top dawg for the day, Danial Frost

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Thursday will be the final two sessions. Weather is expected to be good.

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M