Earlier this week the European powerhouse team PREMA announced that it would be taking on a new challenge in the NTT IndyCar Series starting next year.
The Italian team is planning to open a shop in Indiana, and will bring two cars to the grid with Chevrolet power for the entire 2025 season.
PREMA had been quietly evaluating an expansion into the American racing scene for the past two to three years, and spent the last six months discussing with IndyCar management about a potential entry.
Team Principal Rene Rosin described why this was the right time for the team to try its hand at a different discipline after 40 successful years racing in Europe.
“As I said before, [IndyCar] is a great challenge,” said Rosin. “It is something that expand our business opportunity in another level, in another continent.
“We wanted to get out of Europe because, of course, we [have] reached every possible category within the ladder of motorsport apart from Formula 1 in Europe, from karting to Formula 2. We have a technical partnership in World Endurance Championship and as well in IMSA LMDH.
“This is something we were looking to expand our boundaries to make sure we can create a global group within our entity.
“Why in ’25? Of course, when PREMA join a championship, it’s not to join to be just a number or to be somebody part of it. We want to be part as a protagonist, we want to be part when we are ready to do something.
“’24 to ’25 was the right time for us in terms of structures, all the other programs we are doing, to setting up a new adventure here in the U.S.”
PREMA is still working to make decisions about many of the details that will need to be sorted out before it hits the track, including the all-important driver lineup.
Rosin stated that his preference is to have a veteran of the series paired with a rookie, but also reiterated that he is not scared to bring in two rookies if they are the best option.
The team principal also confirmed that the team would be open to a technical partnership with one of the established IndyCar outfits, but nothing has been decided on that front yet as he continues to assess what his team needs.
“It’s something we are open to everything. We are open to evaluating,” said Rosin. “Of course, we want to do our team in the best way as possible.
“When will be the moment to discuss it, I think we will start discussing. It is something that we want to do, to first analyze all the opportunities, then decide what is the best to do.”
With 27 cars on the grid for this season, the addition of PREMA could push the total number of full time IndyCar entries up to 29 for next year and bring even more competition to an already contentious series.
The team has less than a year to get its program up and running before the 2025 season’s likely start in early March, and is starting from square one by building an American presence up from scratch.
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