CARL INTO ENTER INDY CAR FOR FIRST TIME IN 2018
Leading British single-seater team Carlin has confirmed it will join Indycar next season, having signed former Formula 1 driver Max Chilton and his ex-ganassi team-mate Charlie Kimball.
Carlin has also signed a deal to have its engines supplied by Chevrolet after purchasing two of the IR-12 cars.
Team boss Trevor Carlin had previously said that the “right moment” was close for his team to join Indycar after it narrowly missed out on joining the series in 2016 when a planned partnership with KVSH Racing fell apart.
Carlin has had a presence in America since 2015 when it joined Indy Lights, running new Ganassi Indycar driver Ed Jones to the Lights title the following year.
“We’re delighted to finally be able to announce our entry into Indycar, the result of a long-term ambition of the team,” said Carlin. “By no means do we underestimate the challenge and competition that lies ahead, but I have great faith in the young and passionate team that our team manager Colin [Hale] and I have put together.”
Motorsport News understands Carlin could be joined on the Indycar grid by a further two new teams in 2018.
Former British Formula 3 champion Jack Harvey will also appear in Indycar next year, having been signed to a multiple race programme in a partnership between IMSA Sportscar squad Michael Shank Racing and Indycar’s Schmidt Peterson Motorsports.
Shank and SPM had been working on a collaboration with the Indycar team keen to run Harvey again after he impressed as a stand-in for the last two races of the 2017 season.
Harvey’s limited races will include the Indianapolis 500, Long Beach and the season finale at Sonoma among others.