Spencer Pigot has signed with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing for two races of the 2020 NTT IndyCar Series. Pigot will race for Rahal, with backing from Citrone/Buhl Autosport, in the Grand Prix of Indianapolis as well as the biggest race of the season, the 2020 Indianapolis 500.
It was announced earlier this month that Citrone/Buhl Autosport had been formed by former IndyCar driver, Robbie Buhl, as well as his brother Tom and Robert Citrone, with the team expected to make their debut in IndyCar later this year. Today, it was announced that the team will partner with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing for two races of the 2020 season, with Pigot behind the wheel of the Honda-powered car.
For Pigot, today’s news will see him back on the IndyCar grid in a part-time capacity after having lost his full-time seat at Ed Carpenter Racing; a team that he had raced with since 2016. Now, Pigot will return to the team that he made his IndyCar debut with back in 2016; Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing.
“I’m very excited to join Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing with Citrone/Buhl Autosport for this year’s GMR Grand Prix and Indianapolis 500,” said Pigot. “I ran my first INDYCAR SERIES race and Indy 500 with RLL in 2016 so it will be nice to return to a team with some familiar faces. I can’t thank everyone at RLL and Citrone/Buhl Autosport enough for their efforts in putting this deal together and the opportunity to compete in another Indy 500. I can’t wait for May!”
Pigot was one of a number of somewhat surprising scalps during the off-season, with Ed Carpenter Racing dropping him in favour of Rinus VeeKay. In fifty-six starts since 2016, Pigot has scored fifteen top-ten finishes, with a best finish of second-place at Iowa Speedway in 2018. His decent performances often came despite not usually having decent equipment beneath him.
Now, Pigot has the opportunity to try and earn himself a spot on the grid in a bigger capacity in the future by performing in his two slated appearances during the all-important month of May. Bobby Rahal, team co-owner of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, said today Spencer has “a bright future” in IndyCar and that he is “very pleased” to be welcoming him back to the team.
“I’m very pleased to have Spencer back with us again for the month of May,” Rahal said today. “There is no question in my mind that he can contribute to the overall performance of the team based upon his strong performance last May and at other events throughout the season. Spencer is a team player and has a bright future in my opinion. We are looking forward to working with Citrone/Buhl Autosport on this entry. It is an exciting time for the NTT INDYCAR SERIES and having a new team enter the sport is proof of that.”
Spencer’s signing was a similarly exciting prospect for Robbie Buhl, who said today: “You obviously look back at your own experiences as a driver and with Spencer having come up through the ranks leading to Indy car and winning the Pro Mazda and Indy Lights championships like he did shows that he can win. He knows his way around the INDYCAR SERIES and he knows how to be fast at Indy. You just have to have a little bit of luck and have a good team behind you. In addition to that, what Takuma [Sato] and Graham [Rahal] offer to the program is invaluable. We’re excited.”
The 2020 NTT IndyCar Series will kick-off with the season-opening Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on Sunday, March 15. Pigot’s first race, the Grand Prix of Indianapolis, will take place on Saturday, May 9.
