The chances of three Australians lining up in IndyCar next year moved a little bit closer with confirmation that Andretti Autosport will test Australian James Davison in the No. 27 2011 IZOD IndyCar Series car on Nov. 10 at Palm Beach International Raceway in Jupiter, Fla.
Davison has previously raced in the Mazda Road to Indy came in 2007, when he finished second in the Star Mazda Championship with three wins, three pole positions and three additional podium finishes.
He then moved onto Indy Lights and in his rookie Firestone Indy Lights season in 2008, Davison secured one win, one pole position and five top-10 finishes. He also received the “Most Improved Driver” award.
He backed that debut year up with four podiums (including one win), 14 top-10 finishes and three pole positions to finish second in the Firestone Indy Lights championship.
Earlier this year, he competed in a Daytona Prototype in the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car race at Laguna Seca Raceway, leading seven laps on debut. He also has experience racing in the Champ Car Atlantic Series for Team Australia and won at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Formula BMW during the United States Grand Prix weekend.
Davison is a third-generation driver, with his grandfather Lex Davison a four-time winner of the Australian Grand Prix and his father Jon a former Formula 5000 competitor. His cousins Alex and Will Davison are also V8 Supercar drivers.
A excited Davison is focused on making the most of the opportunity “I’m really excited to have my first IZOD IndyCar Series test with Andretti Autosport at Palm Beach. I have worked very hard for an opportunity like this and I fully intend to maximize it.
The team’s Indy 500 and IndyCar Series championships give me full confidence in the people working with me. I’m looking forward to getting back on track, and hopefully this will give me some good experience for any possible opportunities in 2012. I must thank Michael [Andretti], J-F [Thormann] and everyone at Andretti Autosport for this opportunity.”
Michael Andretti was happy to offer the chance to the former Firestone Indy Lights driver “We’re glad to be able to offer James the chance to test an IZOD IndyCar Series car this week. He was a tough competitor for us in the Firestone Indy Lights series a couple of years ago, and has gained some experience in sports cars since then, so we think he’ll be able to transfer a lot of knowledge to the IndyCar at Palm Beach.”
