RLL Breaking news, exclusive interviews & reports - Motorsport Week https://www.motorsportweek.com/tag/rll/ Motorsport Week is an independent, FIA accredited motorsport website delivering the latest Formula 1, Formula E, GP2, GP3, WEC, IndyCar, Nascar, Formula 3, WRC, WRX, DTM, IMSA and MotoGP news and results. Wed, 19 Mar 2025 15:14:15 +0000 en-GB hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.7.2 https://www.motorsportweek.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/cropped-favicon-1-32x32.png RLL Breaking news, exclusive interviews & reports - Motorsport Week https://www.motorsportweek.com/tag/rll/ 32 32 Fan vote to decide livery for Devlin DeFrancesco’s Indy 500 entry https://www.motorsportweek.com/2025/03/19/fan-vote-to-decide-livery-for-devlin-defrancescos-indy-500-entry/ https://www.motorsportweek.com/2025/03/19/fan-vote-to-decide-livery-for-devlin-defrancescos-indy-500-entry/#respond Wed, 19 Mar 2025 15:09:08 +0000 https://www.motorsportweek.com/?p=201798 The "Turbowave" livery is one of three options fans can choose from. Image: Dogecoin

Devlin DeFrancesco’s livery for the upcoming Indianapolis 500 will be decided by an online vote. The 25-year-old driver will have primary sponsorship from Dogecoin for the event, with the cryptocurrency group dictating the look for the #30 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda this year. DeFrancesco has been a supporter of Dogecoin for multiple seasons, but […]

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The "Turbowave" livery is one of three options fans can choose from. Image: Dogecoin

Devlin DeFrancesco’s livery for the upcoming Indianapolis 500 will be decided by an online vote.

The 25-year-old driver will have primary sponsorship from Dogecoin for the event, with the cryptocurrency group dictating the look for the #30 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda this year.

DeFrancesco has been a supporter of Dogecoin for multiple seasons, but this is the first time it will serve as a major sponsor for him in the Indy 500.

“Super excited to have Dogecoin with me for the Indy 500!!” said DeFrancesco on social media. “My journey with Dogecoin started in 2020!! Excited to see what the future holds!

“I first invested in Dogecoin in 2020 and drove everyone crazy, telling anyone who would listen that they needed to own it. It’s not only my favorite crypto, but the plan to become a global currency and drive payment adoption is awesome.

“I’m pumped to be part of the community and an ambassador for the vision.”

There are three livery choices available for fans to choose from. Each has a brightly colored theme, and has the sponsor’s Shiba Inu mascot located in multiple locations across the car.

“Blaze” is the title of the first option, with yellow, orange, pink, and purple cascading down the car with blended transitions.

The second option features light purple and light blue, reminiscent of 1980’s styling. The “Turbowave” option has hard lines between the two colors in a more traditional layout.

The third option, titled “BananaBoost,” is similar to the second option but features bright yellow instead of purple and is paired with light blue.

Fans looking to vote on the designs will need to navigate to the dedicated indycar.dogecoin.com website and choose their favorite.

Results will be announced next week on March 26, giving the team enough time to properly prepare the car design ahead of Indy 500 running.

Open testing for the Indy 500 takes place on April 23-24, and the race itself takes place the following month on May 25.

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Takuma Sato to contest 16th Indy 500 with RLL https://www.motorsportweek.com/2025/03/11/takuma-sato-to-contest-16th-indy-500-with-rll/ https://www.motorsportweek.com/2025/03/11/takuma-sato-to-contest-16th-indy-500-with-rll/#respond Tue, 11 Mar 2025 14:14:36 +0000 https://www.motorsportweek.com/?p=200514 Sato has two Indy 500 wins under his belt, and is looking for more. Photo: IndyCar - Dana Garrett

Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing has announced that Takuma Sato will attempt to qualify for this year’s Indianapolis 500 in the team’s #75 entry. Sato has contested every Indy 500 since 2010, including the past couple seasons as he has wound down his full time IndyCar career. He continues to race in the biggest event on […]

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Sato has two Indy 500 wins under his belt, and is looking for more. Photo: IndyCar - Dana Garrett

Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing has announced that Takuma Sato will attempt to qualify for this year’s Indianapolis 500 in the team’s #75 entry.

Sato has contested every Indy 500 since 2010, including the past couple seasons as he has wound down his full time IndyCar career.

He continues to race in the biggest event on the calendar, and will do so again this year in an attempt to qualify for his 16th race.

“I’m very excited to return to the 109th Indy 500 with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing,” said Sato.

“Once again, a heartfelt thank you to Bobby [Rahal], Mike [Lanigan], David [Letterman], and the entire organization for this incredible opportunity. I’m also deeply grateful for the continued support from AMADA as the primary sponsor, alongside Panasonic Automotive Systems, Niterra, Deloitte Tohmatsu, NAC, Honda, HRC, and all our loyal sponsors.

“The new #75 car carries over RLL’s historic design with a refreshed and dynamic new livery – it looks absolutely stunning.

“Last year was an incredible experience, reconnecting with the team, and this year, even more familiar faces have joined the effort, which makes this moment even more special and gives me great confidence. I can’t wait to get to work.”

Sato has won the Indy 500 twice, once with Andretti Autosport in 2017 and a second time in 2020 while driving for RLL.

This year will be the seventh time the veteran Japanese driver has raced the famous race with RLL and the odds of him picking up a third win look good, but for the latest odds, fans should look on sport betting VulkanSpiele for great deals.

Sato’s car will look similar to last year. Photo: Kevin Dejewski

The 48-year-old will have backing from Amada America, and his car will look similar to last year’s livery which he took to a 14th place result.

Sato’s entry makes for 34 confirmed entries for this year’s Indy 500, which means that qualifying bumping will take place once again.

The added drama brings an extra level of entertainment to qualifying weekend, during which one driver will be sent home without having a chance to start the race.

The 109th Indianapolis 500 takes place on May 25, with television coverage being provided by FOX.

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Devlin DeFrancesco secures IndyCar return with RLL signing https://www.motorsportweek.com/2024/12/09/devlin-defrancesco-secures-indycar-return-with-rll-signing/ https://www.motorsportweek.com/2024/12/09/devlin-defrancesco-secures-indycar-return-with-rll-signing/#respond Mon, 09 Dec 2024 20:24:08 +0000 https://www.motorsportweek.com/?p=190984 DeFrancesco last drove in IndyCar during the 2023 season. Photo: Kevin Dejewski

Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing announced on Monday that Devlin DeFrancesco will drive the team’s #30 entry for the 2025 NTT IndyCar season. DeFrancesco has made 34 IndyCar starts in his career, completing two seasons with Andretti Autosport in 2022 and 2023. During that time, he failed to break into the top 10 of the results […]

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DeFrancesco last drove in IndyCar during the 2023 season. Photo: Kevin Dejewski

Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing announced on Monday that Devlin DeFrancesco will drive the team’s #30 entry for the 2025 NTT IndyCar season.

DeFrancesco has made 34 IndyCar starts in his career, completing two seasons with Andretti Autosport in 2022 and 2023.

During that time, he failed to break into the top 10 of the results tables and logged a best finish of 12th at World Wide Technology Raceway.

DeFrancesco spent the past year running select IMSA races with Forte Racing’s GTD effort, but now makes his return to IndyCar with the new RLL deal.

“I’m very excited to be back in the IndyCar Series,” said DeFrancesco. “Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing has an amazing history and is also on an impressive trajectory.

“Seeing all the work that is going on from the men and women behind the scenes, it is easy to see that this team and myself are very hungry for results. I look forward to getting started with all the great people here.”

DeFrancesco, a Canadian driver born just after the turn of the century, has an extensive driving history and has competed in many different series.

His biggest accomplishment to date is arguably an LMP2 class victory at the 2022 24 Hours of Daytona, which he won while sharing a car with Eric Lux, Pato O’Ward and Colton Herta.

The 24-year-old’s new agreement sees him back in IndyCar with a multi-year contract, starting with the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on March 2, 2025.

“I’m very pleased that we are able to welcome Devlin to the team,” said Bobby Rahal, co-owner of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing.

“We had the chance to witness his ability while he was at Andretti and there were clearly times when he was quite competitive so I’m confident that we can have a lot of good races together. We’re looking forward to his contribution to the team.”

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Graham Rahal hoping better luck helps him rebound in 2025 https://www.motorsportweek.com/2024/10/22/graham-rahal-hoping-better-luck-helps-him-rebound-in-2025/ https://www.motorsportweek.com/2024/10/22/graham-rahal-hoping-better-luck-helps-him-rebound-in-2025/#respond Tue, 22 Oct 2024 15:40:27 +0000 https://www.motorsportweek.com/?p=183934 Rahal feels luck has not been on his side in nearly a decade. Photo: Kevin Dejewski

Graham Rahal believes a continued streak of bad luck has played a major role in his poor form in recent years. Rahal is one of IndyCar’s most tenured drivers, and will be competing in his 19th season when the series returns to action on the streets of St. Petersburg in March. Despite having nearly 300 […]

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Rahal feels luck has not been on his side in nearly a decade. Photo: Kevin Dejewski

Graham Rahal believes a continued streak of bad luck has played a major role in his poor form in recent years.

Rahal is one of IndyCar’s most tenured drivers, and will be competing in his 19th season when the series returns to action on the streets of St. Petersburg in March.

Despite having nearly 300 starts to his name the veteran has only notched six wins in that time, with his most recent coming in 2015.

This past year he was not able to log even a single top five finish and ended the season 18th in the points standings, his worst result since 2014.

Rahal has been open over the years about his disappointment in his own results, and spoke to IndyCar.com recently about how a long streak of bad luck has played its part.

“The difference is how luck plays a role,” Rahal said. “In the middle of a baseball inning, you don’t get a yellow flag. That’s just the truth. In racing, some people get all the luck, and some people get none. That’s a real thing.

“You’ve got to not only pitch a perfect game in racing, but you’ve got to also have Lady Luck on your side in every regard, and it’s not an easy thing to have. I can’t say I’ve had any luck since 2015.

“Maybe it’ll turn back around and be favorable, but even this past year for me, there’s been races where we were very competitive. Sometimes you do everything flawless, and it simply doesn’t go your way. That’s becoming increasingly hard.”

Indianapolis 500 woes in recent years

The biggest struggles for Rahal in recent years have come at the Indianapolis 500. He was unceremoniously bumped from the 2023 Indy 500 when he was unable to get his Rahal Letterman Lanigan entry to perform better than any other cars on bump day.

Rahal was able to compete in the race when he was asked to fill in for an injured Stefan Wilson, but the sting of being bumped out of the race remains even still.

Rahal barely qualified for the 2024 Indianapolis 500 after being bumped out of the race the year before. Photo: Kevin Dejewski

The team doubled their efforts for the iconic race this past year, but still barely qualified and all four cars finished outside the top 10.

If Rahal can find a bit of luck, however, he feels that he still has the ability to overcome what has grown into a 126-race winless streak.

“I genuinely feel like on Sundays, I’m one of the best drivers out here,” continued Rahal. “I really feel like when it comes to race day, there are not many drivers that can put a whole race together like I can.

“Unfortunately, we’ve had a lot of near-misses, and that’s a major frustration when it continuously bounces the wrong direction.”

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Philipp Eng heads maiden BMW RLL 1-2 at IMSA Indianapolis https://www.motorsportweek.com/2024/09/22/philipp-eng-heads-maiden-bmw-rll-1-2-at-imsa-indianapolis/ https://www.motorsportweek.com/2024/09/22/philipp-eng-heads-maiden-bmw-rll-1-2-at-imsa-indianapolis/#respond Sun, 22 Sep 2024 22:40:00 +0000 https://www.motorsportweek.com/?p=179638 Philipp Eng claimed BMW RLL's first IMSA victory in Indianapolis

Philipp Eng headed BMW RLL's first IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship 1-2 finish at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

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Philipp Eng claimed BMW RLL's first IMSA victory in Indianapolis

Philipp Eng headed BMW RLL’s first IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship 1-2 finish at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

After a hectic opening hour with heavy rain, before the track dried out, BMW RLL mastered their way to a maiden IMSA victory and a 1-2 for the team.

With 56 cars, four classes and a six-hour race length, the historic Brickyard hosted a considerably action-packed race in comparison to last year’s already eventful running.

It was the first Endurance Cup race since 23 June’s Six Hours of the Glen.

Tyre management and longer stint lengths make such races a unique challenge for the drivers, especially for the GTP and LMP2 categories who were overtaking the GTD and GTD Pro categories.

With 11 GTPs and 10 LMP2s, each of which ran close championship-title fights, the results at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course could not be more vital for the respective protagonists.

A hectic opening hour in the rain

The championship-leading #7 Porsche Penske 963 GTP crew qualified in seventh place, which set them a task to gain places throughout the six-hours in efforts to retain their place in the standings.

With such a race length ahead, opportunities would certainly crop up for the #7 Porsche.

The arrival of heavy rain characterised the opening hour when it caused areas of standing water upon the Road Course track surface.

Before the rain arrived, Felipe Nasr was quick to climb at the race start from seventh position after he asserted unrivaled race pace, soon taking the lead off Sebastien Bourdais into Turn 1.

Just before that, the #01 Chip Ganassi-run Cadillac V-Series.R had a solid getaway at lights out as he kept Louis Deletraz’s #40 WTRAndretti Acura ARX-06 at bay.

The #40 Acura shortly made contact with the #56 DragonSpeed Ferrari 296 (GTD) of Rasmus Lindh.

Deletraz continued after he was hit into a spin at T13, but lost his P3 as a result.

The first caution was deployed when Luis Perez Companc spun his #88 AF Corse Oreca 07 LMP2 and was briefly stranded before continuing.

Before this, Nasr built a substantial lead up to nearly five seconds on Jack Aitken, who took P2 from Bourdais in the other #31 Whelen-branded Cadillac.

An issue with the engine ended the run for the #31 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R
An issue with the engine ended the run for the #31 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R – Credit: Kevin Dejewski

Drying conditions return

A prolonged third caution of the race enabled track officials to sweep away much of the standing water, meanwhile the rainfall eased.

Once conditions improved, the chaos of the disrupted opening hour passed by as the race begun to settle in.

During these drying conditions, the fastest GTP car was the #63 Iron Lynx Lamborghini SC63 of Romain Grosjean.

Owing to his strong pace, the #63 climbed up to third place before catching up to the leaders, #6 of Jaminet ahead of #01 Bourdais.

Grosjean asserted a move into second on Bourdais, who then fell into the hands of Connor De Phillippi’s #25 RLL BMW M Hybrid V8 in third.

As the #31 Whelen Cadillac handed over to Pipo Derani, the team faced issues when the engine cut out into T12.

Derani struggled on pace beforehand and returned to the pit lane ahead on electrical power only.

Unfortunately for them, the #31 Cadillac went behind the wall and into retirement, as Tom Blomqvist did not get to race a lap behind the wheel.

Approaching the halfway point

Into the third racing hour, Grosjean continued to eat away at Jaminet’s lead before the duo fought fantastically for the honour.

Jaminet had a brief rear-end snap at T13 as Grosjean made an opportunistic move for the lead, the first time for Lamborghini in IMSA.

Meanwhile in the other #7 Porsche Penske, Nasr made a minor mistake when he went onto the curbs in between T10-11.

His error diminished the championship-leader’s hard work at the beginning of the race.

Teams returned to slick tyres with the fight for the lead still alive and unpredictable.

The #63 Lamborghini team were awarded a drive-through penalty and it was due to having too many pit crew members over the wall during a pit stop when Grosjean got out and Matteo Cairoli took over.

Back to the lead fight, it was between Jesse Krohn in the #24 RLL BMW and Renger van der Zande in the #01 Cadillac.

The #24 took the lead and Jordan Taylor passed van der Zande in his recovering #40 WTRAndretti Acura, before the pair exchange places again.

Cairoli held third behind the pair although a poor pit stop during the race’s fifth caution hindered them once again.

On the restart, Filipe Albuquerque’s #10 retained his lead but the heat was in the battle for third.

Van der Zande defended the #6 of Nick Tandy, who took P4 off Nick Yelloly (#25 BMW), as they all chopped their way through GTD traffic.

Chip Ganassi Racing were amongst those who suffered heartbreak after a strong run so far in the race – Credit: Kevin Dejewski

Key GTP protagonists run into issues

Reliability is tested most of all at the endurance races of the championship’s 11-round calendar.

So whilst the #01—#6—#24 fight continued amidst a constant flurry of GT traffic, Iron Lynx faced heartbreak with their #63 Lamborghini.

Andrea Caldarelli made contact with Ben Barker’s #55 Proton Ford Mustang (GTD), thus inflicting rear-right suspension damage.

They eventually retired as a damaged drivetrain ended their promising yet fulfilling and useful outing at Indianapolis.

Sebastien Bourdais retook the wheel of the #01 from van der Zande but suffered a puncture on his outlap.

As a result of his car forcing him straight on at T12, he conducted another lap back to the pits for a new rear wing and tyre.

It was a dramatic moment for the #7 of Nasr when he stopped in the middle of the start-finish, after his power steering briefly failed.

Louis Deletraz, who narrowly avoided the stationary #5 Porsche, ended up having a whole lap on the field when a sixth caution came out.

This enabled him the opportunity to perform a full service pit stop.

A mistake and a penalty eventually set Louis Deletraz further from winning contention – Credit: Kevin Dejewski

Tension into the final hour

The tension continued into the final hour of the Battle on the Bricks.

With 55 minutes remaining, #40 Deletraz carried out a superb start on the #25 of Connor De Phillipi.

The #25 BMW driver just about kept himself ahead teammate Philipp Eng in the #24 RLL BMW.

New fastest laps were set and BMW RLL found themselves in 1-2 formation, charging to the finish as a duo.

Philipp Eng and his co-driver Jesse Krohn won their first IMSA GTP race ahead of the #25 BMW, Connor De Phillippi and Nick Yelloly.

Third position was claimed by the #6 Porsche duo of Mathieu Jaminet and Nick Tandy.

By comparison to the #7 championship-leaders who finished last in the GTP order and behind the LMP2 class.

The #85 JDC Miller MotorSports Porsche team of Phil Hanson, Richard Westbrook and Tijmen van der Helm earned fourth place.

The #40 took fifth after they lost P3 when Deletraz served a drive-through penalty in the final 30 minutes. He tapped Chaz Mostert’s #75 Mercedes-AMG into a spin.

The #52 Inter Europol by PR1 Mathiasen Oreca 07 fought for the lead throughout – Credit: Kevin Dejewski

Summarising the LMP2 action

Amidst the madness of the challenging, wet conditions, the Bronze-graded drivers fulfilled their opening stints during the treacherous weather.

At the race start, Ben Keating (#2 United Autosports USA Oreca) made his way into the lead on Nick Boulle (#52 Inter Europol by PR1 Mathiasen Oreca).

As a result of the cautions, those who did not spin kept themselves within distance of the class protagonists.

It came to a close fight into the final hour of racing.

Tom Dillmann held the lead ahead of the #99 AO Racing ‘Spike the Dragon’ Oreca 07 of Matt Brabham.

In a turn of misfortune, the #88 AF Corse of Nicklas Nielsen spun the #99 after the pair went door-to-door, ending up as a racing incident.

Paul Di Resta rose and fell in his #22 United Autosports USA Oreca, firstly up to P3 from P7.

Mikkel Jensen, a feller Peugeot Hypercar factory driver, overtook the Scotsman for the lead.

Connor Zilisch in the #18 Era Motorsport Oreca caught the #22 but made right-side contact with the #22.

Di Resta was sent into a spin and Zilisch was awarded a drive-though having caused Di Resta’s left-front wheel arch to catch on the tyre, triggering a mechanical black flag for the #22.

After 215 laps, compared to the 219 completed by the #24 BMW GTP, Jensen and his #11 TDS Racing Oreca co-drivers Steven Thomas and Hunter McElrea won in LMP2.

The #52 Oreca trio of Tom Dillmann, Jakub Smiechowski and Nick Boulle finished in second place ahead of the #18 Era Motorsport Oreca.

Zilisch, Ryan Dalziel and Dwight Merriman took the final podium step after they were a lap down towards the race start.

SEE MORE:

The provisional results of the 2024 IMSA Battle on the Bricks


Rexy Porsche GTD Pro last-to-first victor in IMSA’s Battle on the Bricks

Editor’s Note:

After a post-race technical inspection, the #6 Porsche and the #40 Acura have been found with modifications outside of the homologation and have faced penalties.

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RLL to field fourth IndyCar entry at Portland for Vips https://www.motorsportweek.com/2024/08/07/rll-to-field-fourth-indycar-entry-at-portland-for-vips/ https://www.motorsportweek.com/2024/08/07/rll-to-field-fourth-indycar-entry-at-portland-for-vips/#respond Wed, 07 Aug 2024 15:00:23 +0000 https://www.motorsportweek.com/?p=174585

Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing has announced that it will field a fourth car at the upcoming Grand Prix of Portland, placing Juri Vips behind the wheel. Vips, a veteran of Formula 2, raced with RLL for two events at the end of last season, earning 18th and 24th place finishes in the process. The results […]

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Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing has announced that it will field a fourth car at the upcoming Grand Prix of Portland, placing Juri Vips behind the wheel.

Vips, a veteran of Formula 2, raced with RLL for two events at the end of last season, earning 18th and 24th place finishes in the process.

The results do not accurately represent the pace he showed, however, as he nearly advanced into the Firestone Fast Six during qualifying at Laguna Seca. An early crash put a quick end to his hopes of having a strong result to his name.

He has been working with the team since those debut weekends, and has now been handed at least one more IndyCar outing for the final road course race of the 2024 season.

“I’m very grateful to the team for giving me this opportunity,” said Vips. “I have been working closely with the team on the simulator program and it has been a year since I have been in the car, but I’m confident that the experience gained last year at Portland and Laguna Seca will help me to get up to speed quickly.

“It will still be a very big challenge and one I am very much looking forward to.”

Vips, who is about to turn 24 years old, gained experience on the Portland track last year and he will look to use that familiarity to improve his race pace when he returns for the event on August 25.

He will be driving the #75 entry with Amada sponsorship, which also adorned RLL’s fourth entry in this year’s Indy 500.

“We’re pleased to be able to run Juri in Portland for a number of reasons,” explained Bobby Rahal. “For one, he showed at both Portland and Laguna Seca last year that he certainly has the pace to feature in any event he runs with us.

“He has done a lot of work for us in the simulator this year, which has helped us understand the hybrid system, so it’s nice to reward him for his effort. I’m hopeful that this will lead to more races for him with RLL.”

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Unhappy teams could block IndyCar’s mid-season hybrid introduction – Lundgaard https://www.motorsportweek.com/2024/03/08/unhappy-teams-could-block-indycars-mid-season-hybrid-introduction-lundgaard/ https://www.motorsportweek.com/2024/03/08/unhappy-teams-could-block-indycars-mid-season-hybrid-introduction-lundgaard/#respond Fri, 08 Mar 2024 17:21:09 +0000 https://www.motorsportweek.com/?p=156603

Christian Lundgaard offered his opinion about the planned introduction of the IndyCar’s new hybrid powertrain system, which is currently scheduled for some time after the Indianapolis 500. Lundgaard is racing for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, which is one of the teams that has not had any track time with the hybrid system in testing. The […]

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Christian Lundgaard offered his opinion about the planned introduction of the IndyCar’s new hybrid powertrain system, which is currently scheduled for some time after the Indianapolis 500.

Lundgaard is racing for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, which is one of the teams that has not had any track time with the hybrid system in testing. The series’ larger teams have had multiple days developing and testing the components.

Even though many of those drivers that have had a chance to sample the new system largely say they won’t have an unfair advantage if the hybrid parts are introduced mid-season, the ones that have not yet driven the new format are not so sure.

Talking ahead of the opening round of the 2024 season, where the hybrid system was originally set to debut, Lundgaard described that he feels the mid-year introduction may not happen after all.

“I doubt it’s going to happen after May,” Lundgaard told MotorsportWeek.com. “I think [the system] will be ready, but, if you think about it, you can’t run two half-seasons of the championship.

“If you think about it, the teams that have been running know about the balance and the performance of the car. That’s where if ultimately comes down to being unfair.

“I think once we get through half the season and there are conversations about it being implemented, I think there’s going to be teams, not necessarily protesting that, but I don’t think there are going to be happy teams.

“I think a good example is that Callum Ilott has basically had the same mileage in the car as I have during the offseason, and he’s done one day of testing, which was a hybrid day. They do a lot more mileage there than we do in an official test with only three sets of tires, when they have five to eight sets of tires. That’s already unfair, but I don’t think I should get more into that.

“It just feels very unorganized in one way, and I think it ultimately comes down to them expecting the hybrid system not to be ready. We’ll have to wait and see.”

Lundgaard is entering his third full year in IndyCar, and has logged one victory. Photo: Kevin Dejewski

For this weekend, a few other new components are fitted to the cars in preparation for the planned hybrid parts later in the season, which makes them marginally lighter.

The hybrid system will add a significant amount of weight, however, adding to what is already considered to be a heavy formula for America’s top open wheel series.

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Sato secures ride with RLL to contest 15th Indy 500 https://www.motorsportweek.com/2024/02/15/sato-secures-ride-with-rll-to-contest-15th-indy-500/ https://www.motorsportweek.com/2024/02/15/sato-secures-ride-with-rll-to-contest-15th-indy-500/#respond Thu, 15 Feb 2024 22:00:02 +0000 https://www.motorsportweek.com/?p=153593

Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing has announced that Takuma Sato will drive for the team in the upcoming Indianapolis 500. Sato will climb behind the wheel of the #75 entry, which will be the fourth RLL car competing in the Indy 500, and will be sponsored by AMADA. The veteran Japanese driver has raced with RLL […]

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Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing has announced that Takuma Sato will drive for the team in the upcoming Indianapolis 500.

Sato will climb behind the wheel of the #75 entry, which will be the fourth RLL car competing in the Indy 500, and will be sponsored by AMADA.

The veteran Japanese driver has raced with RLL for five seasons in the past, including in 2020 when he earned his second Indianapolis 500 victory.

His return gives RLL four cars for the marquee event, matching the expanded total the team brought to the event in 2023.

“I’m absolutely thrilled to make my return to the 108th Indy 500 with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing,” said Sato in the press release.

“A heartfelt thank you to Bobby [Rahal], Mike [Lanigan], and David [Letterman] and the entire organization for this incredible opportunity. Gratitude overflows as I am driving the No. 75 entry with primary sponsorship from AMADA.

“My journey with RLL spans over a decade marked by shared successes and rejoining the team fills me with immense excitement. Here’s to reconnecting with familiar faces and forging new alliances. I just can’t wait to get to work.”

Sato’s confirmation means that he will be back to contest in his 15th IndyCar season, and will appear in his 15th Indy 500, assuming he is able to qualify well enough to make the field.

After the longtime racer shifted to a partial schedule last season, it was not known if the 47-year-old would be back in the series for 2024.

He will indeed make his 221st career IndyCar start, however, reunited with the team he has worked with the longest.

The 108th Indianapolis 500 will be run on May 26, with two weeks of practice and qualifying leading up to the spectacle.

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Lundgaard has questioned whether his oval performance was lacking https://www.motorsportweek.com/2024/01/25/lundgaard-has-questioned-whether-his-oval-performance-was-lacking/ https://www.motorsportweek.com/2024/01/25/lundgaard-has-questioned-whether-his-oval-performance-was-lacking/#respond Thu, 25 Jan 2024 23:43:44 +0000 https://www.motorsportweek.com/?p=149395

Christian Lundgaard is entering his third full year in IndyCar this upcoming season, and is looking to build upon the success he found in the 2023 season by improving his results on the banking. The Danish driver came over to IndyCar after having spent two seasons in Formula 2, and quickly showed off just how […]

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Christian Lundgaard is entering his third full year in IndyCar this upcoming season, and is looking to build upon the success he found in the 2023 season by improving his results on the banking.

The Danish driver came over to IndyCar after having spent two seasons in Formula 2, and quickly showed off just how fast he could be.

In his very first event stateside, held as a single-race arrangement on the Indianapolis road course in late 2021, Lundgaard impressively qualified in the fourth position.

It took a full year before he would earn his first podium with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, also on the IMS road course, and nearly a year after that he earned his first victory on the streets of Toronto.

In between those successes Lundgaard struggled to earn consistent results, specifically for the oval rounds, often finishing lower than he felt his driving ability should be earning him.

Talking at a recent preseason press conference, the 22-year-old described how he began to doubt his performance until he looked at the bigger picture within his RLL team.

“I’ve questioned myself a lot in terms of if it’s my performance that’s lacking, or the team, or the combination of those,” said Lundgaard. “And, honestly, I think it’s a combination.

“The one thing I will say is looking at where Graham [Rahal] is on oval results, we are basically equal. So in that sense, I at least can calm myself down on that.

“But honestly, I think when we look at Indy last year, we had three out of four cars in the last chance qualifying. So I think that just indicates that the car just simply wasn’t fast enough, and that’s something that just simply needs to be improved.

“I think it’s obvious that we need to improve the oval performance just to be able to stay in the fight throughout a season. Obviously Milwaukee coming in this year, replacing one of the races that we know that we were very, very fast on.

Lundgaard has consistently taken well to the IMS road course. Photo: Kevin Dejewski

“We definitely just need to improve the oval package for sure. Some of the road course packages needs to be better, as well. But I think the trajectory of the team’s performance is in the right direction.

“And I’m just looking forward to seeing what we have when we show up in St. Pete. I think the past two years have been very similar in terms of performance there. If we are performing better there, I think we’ll be in good shape for the championship.”

RLL looked intently at its internal processes after being embarrassed at last year’s Indianapolis 500, and seemed to show marked improvement towards the latter portion of the season.

If that momentum can carry forward to next season, and the team’s oval performances can match its road course pace, then Lundgaard’s long-held belief that he can fight for championships might well play out.

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Rahal: RLL has corrected ‘low-hanging fruit’ that led to poor Indy 500 performance https://www.motorsportweek.com/2024/01/10/rahal-rll-has-corrected-low-hanging-fruit-that-led-to-poor-indy-500-performance/ https://www.motorsportweek.com/2024/01/10/rahal-rll-has-corrected-low-hanging-fruit-that-led-to-poor-indy-500-performance/#respond Wed, 10 Jan 2024 17:53:09 +0000 https://www.motorsportweek.com/?p=146225

After struggling to find competitive pace during the 2023 Indianapolis 500, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing has made a host of changes to rectify the situation leading into this upcoming IndyCar season. The team’s poor performance during the Month of May was embarrassing for the tenured squad, and led to Graham Rahal being the only driver […]

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After struggling to find competitive pace during the 2023 Indianapolis 500, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing has made a host of changes to rectify the situation leading into this upcoming IndyCar season.

The team’s poor performance during the Month of May was embarrassing for the tenured squad, and led to Graham Rahal being the only driver to be bumped out of the race during qualifying.

The veteran was able to fill in for an injured Stef Wilson to compete in his 16th Indy 500, but did so with the Dreyer and Reinbold team rather than his own.

Speaking to media at a pre-season conference, Rahal described how his dad and team owner Bobby Rahal stepped in to make a multitude of changes in order to ensure improvements were made quickly.

“There was a lot of low-hanging fruit, unfortunately, that was missed,” explained Rahal, the memory of that tough race still evident in his demeanor. “That’s part of the game. But it’s disappointing now to look back.

“Having said that, I’ve got to tip my cap to my dad, which everybody thinks, ‘Oh, you should do that.’ No, he was very motivated after May to get responses. Immediate responses.

“And then from that, [Chief Operating Officer] Steve Eriksen has done an amazing job to put the plan together, and now to let [Technical Director] Stefano Sordo and his group implement the plan.

“They have invested a lot of money. We’ve got sponsors that have jumped on board to help us with some of the R&D costs, and it’s going to make a big difference.

“A lot of changes at our team. A lot of new engineering changes and new people to the sport, period.

“Is it one thing? No. But we have already identified, I think, a lot of things that were not right that has hurt our team and kind of made us fall behind here. Just got to keep our heads down and now implement those properly, make sure the changes that are being done are being done to every car, being done well, and hopefully we’ll see some good performance gains this year.

“[That Indy 500 is] behind us now, and I think we’ve found a lot that’s going to help us as we go forward, and we’re going to continue to work very hard in that regard.”

Rahal’s #15 entry was not present in the Indy 500 after being knocked out of the event in qualifying. Photo: Kevin Dejewski

Some of the changes Rahal described were implemented during the 2023 season, which led to the team earning a win in Toronto and nearly scoring a second on the IMS road course in the latter portion of the year.

The entire team is hopeful the large-scale changes will lead to stronger performances at the 108th Indianapolis 500 as well as the rest of the upcoming 17-race season.

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