Photo: Indianapolis Motor Speedway / Road to Indy
Rasmus Lindh’s long-awaited Indy Lights debut will take place at Portland International Raceway this coming Saturday, as he joins Juncos Hollinger Racing for the remainder of the season.
Last year, Lindh signed to drive for Belardi Auto Racing in the series but had his plans undone by the cancellation of the championship after the first free practice session of the season in St. Petersburg.
He then couldn’t find the budget in time to land a 2021 seat, but the departure of Toby Sowery from Juncos has freed up a space on the grid for the final three rounds. In taking that seat, Lindh reunites with the team that ran him in Indy Pro 2000.
“I’m looking forward to driving the Indy Lights car again,” said Lindh.
“I have not been in the car since we went out for practice in St. Pete back in March 2020. When [team owner] Ricardo Juncos called me and told me he had a seat available for the remaining races, it was an easy yes for me!
“I was thrilled to add this to my schedule and that these final events had no conflict with my current IMSA programme. I want to thank everyone who helped make this possible including Andersen Promotions, my sponsors, and my team Juncos Hollinger Racing.”
Lindh finished second to Kyle Kirkwood in USF2000 and IP2000 in successive years, but their rivalry couldn’t continue into Indy Lights last year. Both switched to sportscars, with Lindh coming 12th in the LMP3-spec IMSA Prototype Challenge.
He stayed in the series for 2021, as well as contesting races in the main IMSA series with the same Performance Tech Motorsports team. The 20-year-old Swede is currently fifth in IMSA PC, and fourth in IMSA’s LMP3 class.
Juncos team owner Ricardo Juncos commented: “We are excited to have Rasmus back on board with our team as we go to finish out the Indy Lights season. Rasmus performed great for us back in 2019 and I am confident he will have no problem transitioning back into the Indy Lights car come this weekend at Portland.”
Lindh’s arrival brings the Indy Lights grid back up to 12 cars for Portland, it could grow to 13 again for the Laguna Seca and Mid-Ohio rounds that end the season.