Following the departure from Schmidt Peterson Motorsports last week of Mikhail Aleshin, Sebastian Saavedra will step into the #7 machine for the next two races at Pocono Raceway and Gateway Motorsports Park.
The Colombian first replaced the Russian when he missed the race around the streets of Toronto, but following Aleshin’s decision to walk away to focus on SMP Racing’s LMP1 challenger, Saavedra will again bring his AFS Racing backers to Schmidt Peterson Motorsports (SPM) for the next two rounds.
“I am very excited to be back with the SPM organization,” said Saavedra, who will again partner James Hinchcliffe. “It’s another late call to jump in, but I take it with pride after a promising start of our relationship in Toronto.
“Looking forward to a challenging event as the Tricky Triangle can be, and support Hinchcliffe in his pursuit of championship points. I’m thankful to my sponsors and my continued relationship with AFS Inc.”
Piers Phillips, General Manager of SPM, has welcomed Saavedra back into the fold for the two remaining oval races of the season, and believes he can perform well at both venues.
“Delighted to have Sebastian back with the SPM team following what was a very encouraging performance at the Toronto event,” said Phillips. “He is experienced and competent, and I have no doubt he will contribute to the overall performance of the team.
“We’re heading to Pocono full of confidence as a team and we’re looking forward to hopefully seeing Sebastian and James at the front of the pack.”
Currently there are no plans in place for who will drive the #7 machine in the final two road course races of the year at Watkins Glen International and Sonoma Raceway, although Robert Wickens has thrown his name into the hat with this tweet…
