Rahal Letterman Lanigan – Page 4

Restructured RLL off to a rocky IndyCar start after Texas

Big things were expected from Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing to open 2023 after performing a sweeping reorganization of its technical department during the offseason, and after completing the first two races of the NTT IndyCar Series races of the …

A hard crash for RLL sophomore Jack Harvey at St. Petersburg and overall lack of front-running speed presented a challenge in round one; Christian Lundgaard was the team’s best qualifier in 11th and improved to ninth, and Graham Rahal motored from 20th to sixth in the accident-filled event, but the team had its sights set on starting towards the front and finishing in the vicinity of the podium.

Texas Motor Speedway offered another chance for RLL to take a step forward, but like St. Petersburg, speed was elusive from the outset as all three drivers qualified between 24th and 28th. The 250-lap race was a punishing affair for the squad as the trio were lapped before the halfway point with Harvey leading the team home in 18th as Lundgaard followed home in 19th, three laps arrears. Making matters worse, Rahal was wrecked on lap 219, collateral damage in Devlin DeFrancesco’s crash that led his car to turn right into Rahal’s path entering Turn 3.

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Unhurt in the brief 200mph flight and subsequent crash, Rahal held no grudge with the Andretti Autosport driver, but did lament the unsatisfactory start — its second in consecutive seasons — after being checked and cleared by IndyCar’s medical team.

“You know our setup to start the race is so far out of the window, it’s just everything I can do to hang on as long as I did, but that put us a couple laps down,” Rahal said. “Really in this situation, (definitely did) nothing wrong. It’s just a racing deal. It’s unfortunate, but I’m in one piece. You know, I cheated Texas again.”

Thanks to Rahal’s big drive in St Petersburg, the Texas crash and 24th-place finish has only dropped him to 13th in the standings. Lundgaard’s run to 19th moved him down to 14th, and Harvey’s Round 1 crash — also not of his making — and crossing the line in 18th on Sunday has him holding 22nd in the championship leading into Long Beach in two weeks’ time.

If the proud team can muster more pace on Fridays and Saturdays and improve their starting positions, the 2023 season they envisioned will be within reach.

“We move on to the next one, but definitely frustrated,” Rahal said. “I think this entire weekend we expected a lot out of the team and none of us were in the window, and for a team like us it’s absolutely unacceptable.”

Lundqvist set for RLL IndyCar test

Linus Lundqvist, the hard-charging Swede who won the 2022 Indy Lights championship after reeling off five wins and nine podiums from 14 races, was unable to take the small advancement prize offered by Penske Entertainment and find a seat in the NTT IndyCar Series. But that didn’t stop Lundqvist from working hard throughout the offseason to create opportunities for himself, and after months of discussions, the 23-year-old has been rewarded with an upcoming test he’s arranged with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing.

Set to test on April 3 at Texas Motor Speedway — the day after the IndyCar race on the 1.5-mile oval — Lundqvist will get a feel for RLL and a big and fast oval after being out of an open-wheel car since the final Indy Lights race in September.

“In this opportunity, I’m obviously very thankful and I want to say thanks to the RLL team and to Bobby Rahal for putting me in at this test,” Lundqvist told RACER. “I know that it’s going to be a little bit tricky for me because it’s been some time since I’ve been in a single-seater, but to do my first test with the team at Texas is gonna be exciting.”

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The outing with RLL will mark Lundqvist’s second time in an Indy car, having tested for Andretti Autosport late in 2021 as a reward for placing third on his Indy Lights debut. Although there are no guarantees, in a recent interview with a Swedish TV outlet Rahal did express his interest in fielding an entry for Lundqvist at unspecified IndyCar rounds later in the year.

“It will be about a year and a half since my last time in an Indy car, so hopefully I can do a good job and hopefully the team can get a good feeling for me,” he added. “Then maybe we’ll see what we can work out for the rest of the year. My dream is that we can put something together for more than just a test, but this is a great start. This test gets me going for the year.”

Although he’s lacked a home on the IndyCar grid, Lundqvist has maintained an intensive training regimen to be ready for any doors that might open.

“I’ve been going hard over the winter, both at the gym together with the Pit Fit guys, going to races like the 24 Hours of Daytona or wherever to see and meet with people, and doing everything else that I can do to stay in shape for any opportunities, and here we are,” he said. “Hopefully I’ve done a decent enough job over the winter to make the most out of things. I need to be out there, racing.”

Harvey cleared to return for Texas

Jack Harvey has been cleared to race his No. 30 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda at the upcoming NTT IndyCar Series race on the 1.5-mile Texas Motor Speedway oval. The Briton, who was involved in a heavy crash at the season-opening race at St. …

Jack Harvey has been cleared to race his No. 30 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda at the upcoming NTT IndyCar Series race on the 1.5-mile Texas Motor Speedway oval.

The Briton, who was involved in a heavy crash at the season-opening race at St. Petersburg that wasn’t of his making, was taken to a local hospital for evaluation before being released soon after the event’s completion.

Suffering injuries to one of his arms, Harvey was not cleared to participate in a recent private test at Barber Motorsports Park, but with the April 1-2 TMS race on the horizon, the series’ medical staff assessed the RLL driver and gave him the green light to compete at Round 2.

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“I have just been medically cleared to resume activities on track,” Harvey said. “It’s been an interesting couple of weeks since St. Pete itself, so that’s really great news heading into the weekend. That just means that we can really focus on getting ready for Texas and then the other races coming up after that, but I really appreciate everyone’s concern and support and yeah, looking forward to being on track again, as quick as we can and having a great weekend in Texas.”

In his second season with the team, Harvey hopes to participate in his first Texas race for RLL after crashing and suffering a concussion during practice for last year’s event.

Vips to stand in for Harvey at Barber IndyCar test

Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing NTT IndyCar Series driver Jack Harvey has not been cleared by the series’ medical staff to take part in today’s private test at Barber Motorsports Park. The decision comes after the Briton was involved in a heavy crash …

Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing NTT IndyCar Series driver Jack Harvey has not been cleared by the series’ medical staff to take part in today’s private test at Barber Motorsports Park.

The decision comes after the Briton was involved in a heavy crash on March 5 during the season-opening IndyCar race in St. Petersburg and was taken to a local hospital for further evaluation. Harvey, in his second year with RLL, was released from the hospital later that day.

In his place, former Formula 2 driver Juri Vips has been placed in Harvey’s No. 30 Honda for the Barber test. If he’s cleared, Harvey’s next race will take place on April 2 at Texas Motor Speedway, an event he missed last year after crashing and receiving a concussion.

According to RLL, “Harvey will be evaluated again prior to making his return to competition at the PPG 375 at Texas Motor Speedway on April 2. Juri Vips, who tested with the team at Sebring International Raceway on Oct. 12, 2022, will participate in the test today in the No. 30 entry.”