Schmidt Peterson Motorsports confirmed on Thursday that Gabby Chaves will fill in for Mikhail Aleshin in the No.7 Honda for the first IndyCar test in Phoenix.
The two-day event takes place on Friday and Saturday at the Phoenix International Raceway, with teams and drivers completing the first public tests with their new cars.
Aleshin debuted for the team in 2014 and finished 16th in the drivers’ standings, despite failing to race in the finale after he was injured in a practice crash. He drove for SMP Racing in the European LeMans Series in 2015 and also competed at Le Mans.
He will return to IndyCar with Schmidt Peterson Motorsports this year but last-minute work visa issues meant he has been forced to skip the test.
Chaves, who won the Indy Lights title in 2014 and stepped up to IndyCar last year, will replace him. The Colombian finished 15th in his rookie campaign but he lost a seat for 2016 when Bryan Herta Autosport merged with Andretti Autosport.
"While we wish Mikhail was able to participate in this test with us, we're confident that he'll get up to speed quickly when he returns," said SPM general manager Piers Phillips.
"Gabby had a solid rookie season and we appreciate his willingness to step up quickly for this important test. We have high expectations for SPM's 2016 season and our goal is to use these test days at PIR to set us up for success."
