Vips, 23, will drive the #30 automotive that Jack Harvey vacated for the ultimate three races of the season, as Bobby Rahal’s group evaluates expertise for its 2024 lineup.
Vips is a three-time Components 2 race winner and part of the Pink Bull Junior Staff setup between 2018-2022 however he was dropped after he used a racial slur on a Twitch livestream – only a month after making his F1 free follow debut on the Spanish Grand Prix.
He drove an IndyCar for the primary time in October 2022 at Sebring in a check for RLL and once more at Barber in March of this 12 months. He has additionally carried out static simulator testing for the group throughout this season.
“I’m very happy for the group to enter Juri within the Portland and Laguna Seca races,” mentioned Rahal. “Clearly, he was the lead Pink Bull Junior driver just a few years in the past and exhibited plenty of expertise, which we noticed in the course of the two assessments he ran with us so we’re trying ahead to seeing what he can do on a race weekend.”
Vips will drive this weekend at Portland and on the Laguna Seca season finale every week later and is predicted to characteristic within the group’s plans subsequent season. His major goal is to make sure the #30 automotive finishes within the prime 22 in entrants’ factors to qualify for subsequent 12 months’s ‘Winners Circle’ program, which is price virtually $1m to every entry.
Conor Daly, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda
Picture by: Michael L. Levitt / Motorsport Images
The automotive is presently tied on 160 factors with Meyer Shank Racing’s #60, which might be pushed by Tom Blomqvist within the two occasions.
“I’m tremendous joyful to get the chance with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing and really grateful to Bobby, Mike [Lanigan] and everybody on the group,” he mentioned. “I haven’t been driving all 12 months so the anticipation for this chance has been immense however I’m actually trying ahead to beginning once more.
“We examined collectively on the finish of 2022 in Sebring and it appeared like we simply gelled. I acquired together with everybody and I actually just like the environment on the group. Bobby’s additionally one to offer second probabilities and I’m extraordinarily grateful that he’s giving me one and I actually hope to deliver a superb outcome for him, Mike and the entire group.
“I hope I can show myself and most significantly get them into the Winners Circle, which is at all times my foremost mission. I really feel prepared for these races, I feel the tracks swimsuit my expertise and driving fashion and the automotive as nicely.
“I’ve already built-in myself with the group this 12 months, doing a little work for them on the simulator so I already know the individuals and really feel very comfy with everybody which is an enormous profit for me as nicely.”
