Juan Pablo Montoya and Oriol Servia have been chosen as the test drivers to run the 2018 Dallara universal aero kit, which will begin around the 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway on 25-26 July.
Both drivers have lots of experience in motor sport, with forty-three-year-old Servia the 1999 Indy Lights Champion, while forty-one-year-old Montoya won the CART championship in the same year, as well as the Indianapolis 500 in both 2000 and 2015.
After Indianapolis, testing will continue on the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course and the short oval at Iowa Speedway in August, before concluding at the Sebring International Raceway in September ahead of its planned race debut next season.
Montoya will run with the Chevrolet-powered Team Penske, the team that took him to second place in the Verizon IndyCar Series back in 2015, while Servia will run with the Honda-powered Schmidt Peterson Motorsports team, although IndyCar will control the data so neither team get any competitive advantage.
“I think they did a really good job with it,” said Montoya. “I think going back to one aero kit for both manufacturers is good for the sport. … It opens the door to other companies to get interested in INDYCAR again.”
Servia raced for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing in the Indianapolis 500 this year as well as the double header in Detroit, with that team acknowledging the high standard of feedback the Spaniard gives every time he takes to the track.
“I have a little experience, same as Juan,” said Servia. “If we can help in any small measure to have a great product in 2018, I’ll be honoured.
“It’s great that INDYCAR is doing it to make sure we have good racing. We want to help them accomplish what they want to accomplish.”
