Mikhail Aleshin will definitely miss Friday’s running at Road America after immigration issues have left him stranded in France after competing in last weekend’s 24 Hours of Le Mans.
The Schmidt Peterson Motorsport driver was part of the SMP Racing LMP2 squad that finished thirty-third overall and sixteenth in class at Le Mans, but he has been unable to leave France due to immigration issues, with his Verizon IndyCar Series team working hard to rectify the problem so he can return to the car on Saturday.
Friday’s running will be undertaken by Canadian Robert Wickens, with the current DTM Series star joining compatriot James Hinchcliffe in the team. Wickens tested an IndyCar back in January as part of a ride-swap with Hinchcliffe, but he has not raced a single seater since winning the 2011 Formula Renault 3.5 Series title.
Should Aleshin continue to be absent from proceedings, the likelihood will be that Wickens will make his IndyCar race debut at Road America, although nothing will be confirmed until it is clear whether the Russian can make it back in time to race.