Armaan secures Indy seat

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Armaan Ebrahim has secured a race seat in America’s famous single-seater series, Indy Lights. The Chennai youngster, who has been driving in Formula Two for the last three seasons, will represent Bryan Herta Autosport when the new season begins in March next year, becoming the first Indian at the Indy Lights, a feeder series to IndyCar.

The 22-year-old’s move to USA was confirmed after a two-day test with Bryan Herta at the Putnam Park Road Course where Armaan impressed the team with his ability to handle the 500bhp, V8 engine-powered car.

Bryan Herta is one of the big teams in Indy racing and the reigning Indy 500 champions. “Armaan acquitted himself very well. Although it is quite a bit different than some of the cars he has driven recently, he was quickly on the pace and we were pleased with the feedback he was able to provide to his engineers. Based on today, we are actively working to put a programme in place around Armaan to not only make him the first Indian driver on the grid of the Indy Lights Series, but also ultimately the first Indian driver in the winner’s circle,” said the team owner Herta.

Armaan was quite pleased with his performance at the test. “It has been five years since I drove a car without a paddle shift and I was quite amazed as to how quickly I was able to adapt to the car. Though not as nimble as a GP2 car, it is a great car to drive and I was able to put in quick laps fairly soon. The team and the way that they went about their work on track were very impressive and after a long time, I feel extremely comfortable in such an environment. The engineers, mechanics and the team manager were thoroughly professional and I’m sure we will have some good times ahead racing in America with strong results,” said Armaan.

“It was good to have Bryan at the test and he was extremely helpful. I am also happy to have the support of Denny Young from Elevation Group who along with Raghavendra Patnaik from FairPlay are now quite confident to put together a sponsorship package that meets the criteria,” he added.

With Armaan becoming the first Indian driver to enter Indy racing, there is rising interest among sponsors both in India and the United States.

“There is a lot of interest in India and Indian markets within the United States and Armaan crossing over to Indy presents a solid platform to companies to get on board and take advantage,” said Denny Young, former Head-Motorsport at IMG and owner of Elevation Group, a leading American Sports Management company.

There has been a spike in interest in Armaan among Indian companies since the announcement of his move to America with Indy racing.