MCELREA SET FOR INDY LIGHTS TEST
Kiwi Hunter McElrea will join a long list of Road to Indy drivers for the traditional Chris Griffis Memorial Open Test at Indianapolis Motor Speedway from October 30-31.
The Gold Coast local, who finished third in the 2021 Indy Pro 2000 Championship, will test an Indy Lights machine alongside reigning Indy Pro 2000 champion Christian Rasmussen and Kyffin Simpson.
McElrea has risen swiftly up the American open wheeler ranks, graduating from US F2000 after a second placed finish in 2019 before improving from fifth last year to third in Indy Pro 2000 this season.
Fellow Kiwi Billy Frazer will also take part in the test, sampling an Indy Pro 2000 car after finishing 12th in USF2000 this year for Exclusive Autosport.
All three levels of the Road to Indy ladder system – Indy Lights, the Indy Pro 2000 Championship and the USF2000 Championship – will take part in six 45-minute sessions over the course of the two days on the “Inner Loop” road course.
After the test was cancelled last year due to COVID-19, 44 drivers have been registered for the upcoming Chris Griffis test representing 11 countries and 15 different teams.
“As is the case every year, I’m really looking forward to this year’s Chris Griffis Memorial Test at IMS,” Road to Indy Series Development Director Rob Howden said.
“Driver development and preparation is at the absolute core of our mission with the Road to Indy, and this annual test is so satisfying because we get to see drivers take what they’ve learned all year and apply it to the next level of our program.
“It’s exciting to see how much the drivers grow and mature from the start of a season to the end and watching USF2000 drivers jump into Indy Pro 2000 cars, and so on up the ladder, is fantastic.”
The annual test is named in memory of Chris Griffis, the former Team Manager of Schmidt Peterson Motorsports who passed away suddenly in September 2011.
The foundation of the event is to provide new drivers with the opportunity to sample the Road to Indy while offering returning drivers the chance to hone their programs for the following year.
The test will be followed by a one-day outing on Monday, November 1, for the top three finishers in this year’s Indy Lights championship – Kyle Kirkwood, David Malukas and Linus Lundqvist – who earned an IndyCar test as part of their prize package.
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