Photo: Abel Motorsports
USF Pro 2000 driver Francesco Pizzi will contest three Indy Nxt rounds with Abel Motorsports later this year.
He will step up to IndyCar’s primary feeder series for the next round on the streets of Nashville, then will appear again a week later on Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s road course before returning to USFP2000 for its final two rounds.
Pizzi will then reunite with Abel for Indy Nxt’s season finale, a double-header at Laguna Seca on September 8-10.
“Signing with Abel Motorsports is a great opportunity for myself to partner with a growing team, especially the last few events as a single-car team, they have been able to show that they are able to contend with the big teams for podiums and race wins,” said Pizzi.
“I think this will be great for me to be able to learn from the more experienced Indy Nxt drivers, like Jacob Abel while I prepare for next year. These were the only tracks that I had not yet ticked off to learn and getting to learn the tracks and a bigger higher downforce car will just really help me in preparation for next season.
“I am really excited to get going, and can’t wait to see what we are capable of in Nashville.”
The 18-year-old Italian was Formula 4 United Arab Emirates champion as a single-seater rookie in 2020, and came second in Italian F4 later that year. He then stepped up to the Formula Regional European Championship, where he only scored twice, and another step up to FIA Formula 3 for 2022 resulted in a singular points finish.
He started this year by coming seventh in the Daytona 24 Hours, and winning its LMP2 class in the proccess, then joined TJ Speed in USFP2000. A pole and a podium so far puts him sixth in the standings, but he is still in title contention.