Jack Hawksworth has moved himself further into contention for a seat in IndyCar next season with a superb test outing with Dale Coyne Racing at Sebring.
The 2012 Star Mazda champion produced scintillating pace to lap second-fastest amongst the drivers running the 2013-spec engine, outpacing five IndyCar race-winners as he finished up a mere 0.14 seconds shy of the benchmark set by 2012 IndyCar champion Ryan Hunter-Reay.
The run-out was the 22 year old’s second in an IndyCar machine, following an impressive debut outing at Sebring with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing back in September.
“It was a really good test and another extremely positive learning experience,” said Hawksworth. “Having driven an IndyCar around Sebring before, I had a better idea of what it would feel like this time and was able to jump in and get onto the pace more quickly.
“I really enjoyed working with Dale Coyne Racing. I immediately established a good rapport with my engineer and I got on well with all the guys in the team. Hopefully my performance turned a few heads and made people sit up and take note. There are six weeks before official pre-season testing begins, so it’s up to us to try and make something happen between now and then to secure a place on the 2014 IndyCar starting grid.”
“Jack ran a total of 89 laps around Sebring and continued to improve on his times. At the end of the day, he was second-quickest of the single-turbo cars. That was quite impressive, considering the only single-turbo car in front of him was on its third day of testing with factory support,” added race eingineer John Dick.
“Jack’s feedback was also impressive given his relative inexperience with an IndyCar and almost no history with this particular team’s chassis set-up. He would be a valuable asset to Dale Coyne Racing.”
