A host of drivers were able to sample an IndyCar for the first time on Wednesday at a private test session held at Sebring Raceway.
Instead of the usual slate of current IndyCar drivers, the offseason test was populated with drivers that are only just getting to know the Dallara chassis for the first time.
Five drivers in total were on track over the course of the day, each with different motivations for taking part in the private test.
Driving a Meyer Shank Racing entry was Tom Blomqvist, who has been lighting up the scoreboards driving for the team in an IMSA DPi prototype and set the fastest lap of the day.
Blomqvist completed a lap of 52.708 seconds late in the afternoon, and was nearly a third of a second faster than the rest of the participants.
The 28-year-old is locked into sportscars for next season, but has shown interest in making a jump to IndyCar in the future if the opportunity presents itself.
Agustin Canapino was behind the wheel of the Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevy, preparing for a set of upcoming exhibition runs in his native Argentina.
The demonstration will take place next month in and around Buenos Aires, and will serve as a promotional event in team co-owner Ricardo Juncos’ home country.
Jake Dennis took to the track in an Andretti Autosport Honda, with the Formula E driver using his ties with the team to snag an opportunity to feel out the different discipline.
Rounding out the five participants were a pair of Formula 2 veterans Juri Vips and Marcus Armstrong. The two drivers piloted entries from Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing and Dale Coyne Racing respectively.
Vips completed the most laps on the day, lapping the short Sebring course 155 times in the all-day session.
There was some talk that Armstrong was interested in becoming the next young driver the jump from the European ladder over to IndyCar for next season, but that has not yet materialized.
None of the drivers that participated in the late-autumn test have any solid plans to take part in the series in the near future, but completing a day of running around IndyCar’s winter home is a good way to get a foot in the door.
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