Indy Lights championship contender Ed Jones got his first taste of the Verizon IndyCar Series last week during a test with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing at Sonoma Raceway.
Jones currently sits eighteen points shy of the Indy Lights championship lead ahead of the season finale at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in September, having won the first three races in his maiden campaign in the series with Carlin.
The 20 year old got his IndyCar opportunity during a shared test day around the Sonoma road course ahead of the IndyCar meeting there at the end of August, and got behind the wheel of current championship contender Graham Rahal’s Honda-powered Dallara.
Tackling Sonoma for the first time, the former European F3 Open champion adapted well on his first runs, with team manager Ricardo Nault describing him as a “true professional” who impressed with “his ability both on-track and during the debriefing process”.
Jones himself said: “It was an amazing experience to drive an IndyCar for the first time. I have to thank Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing again for the opportunity – it was a pleasure to work with such a professional team that made me feel right at home from the beginning.
“The sheer level of downforce took me a little by surprise – that was the main difference from the Indy Lights car, I would say. The carbon brakes also mean you can brake a lot deeper and need to alter your technique slightly, but in terms of the power it wasn’t as big a jump as I had been expecting.
“Overall, it was a fantastic test and I feel I performed well. I took the necessary and logical steps on each run to improve whilst giving the team technical feedback to tune the car towards the circuit. The Verizon IndyCar Series is definitely where I want to be.”
