Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing will be bringing a couple extra cars to Texas Motor Speedway this weekend, as it plans to run a test on Monday with two drivers not part of its full time squad.
Katherine Legge and Linus Lunqvist will each get to run laps around the 1.5-mile oval and spend some time getting reacquainted with the DW12 IndyCar chassis.
For Legge, it will be the first time she has piloted an IndyCar at speed since the 2013 Indianapolis 500 and will be the first time to feel out her #44 entry.
The 42-year-old racer has been competing steadily in other series since that time, mainly focusing on GT racing in the IMSA SportsCar Championship.
She is set to return to IndyCar competition at this year’s Indy 500, driving a fourth entry for RLL in what will be the team’s largest ever showing at a single event.
Legge is currently the only female lined up to take part in any of this year’s races, with Simona de Silvestro and Paretta Autosport not yet finalizing any deals to make it onto the grid.
Lundqvist will be joining her on track Monday, and will also be using the time to familiarize himself with an IndyCar because over a year has passed since he last drove one.
This test day will be only the Swede’s second time behind the wheel of a top-series car, and the first time he will have a chance to run over 200 MPH on an oval.
Despite being last year’s Indy Lights champion, now called Indy NXT, the 24-year-old was not able to land a ride with any teams this season. IndyCar rules guarantee him a chance to run at least a few IndyCar races, but that does not address the question of funding and has not resulted in any race seats up to this point.
Lundqvist does not currently have any further affiliation with RLL beyond this test, and continues to actively look for opportunities within IndyCar.
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