Strong Indy Lights Test for Schmidt Peterson Motorsports at NOLA

Topics:  Rolls Royce

Monica Hilton
Schmidt Peterson Motorsports
February 20, 2015

For more information, contact:
Monica Hilton
monicah@spmindycar.com
608.669.3211
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Avondale, LA - February 20, 2015 - Schmidt Peterson Motorsports' four confirmed Indy Lights drivers - Scott Anderson, RC Enerson, Jack Harvey and Ethan Ringel - completed two days of pre-season testing on Wednesday and Thursday at NOLA Motorsports Park.

Below-average temperatures were a factor as the drivers got acclimated to the 2.75-mile, 16-turn road course.

"Our test at NOLA went pretty well," said Scott Anderson, driver of the SPM No. 77 car. "We're going through a lot of changes and figuring out more about the car. We had some bad luck with red flags on our new tire runs, but we were still able to try a lot of changes and learn quite a bit. I'm looking forward to the Barber test next and feeling more accustomed to the car. Things are really starting to click so Barber should be the place to put everything together."

RC Enerson, driver of the No. 7 car stated, "The track here at NOLA is a lot more physical than the other tracks we've tested at. It's definitely one-of-a-kind and was a big challenge. I feel that we made some good gains and I'm looking forward to the next test at Barber."

Jack Harvey, driver of the No. 42 car said, "I felt that this was, by far, our best test overall. We had good direction and our lap times were very competitive on day one. Despite some mechanical issues that limited our testing time during the morning of day two, I still felt it was a good platform to progress forward from."

Ethan Ringel, driver of the SPM No. 71 car commented, "I'm working to get used to the differences in the Lights car versus the Atlantic, including the Cooper tires. The car felt much better today and I was learning the track. I had some contact in turn six that ended my day early. It was disappointing but I'm happy with the improvements that we were making up to that point. I'll keep working to get up to speed quickly with this car."

SPM engineer Dave Higuera commented, "In my opinion, testing went very well, although conditions were somewhat tricky with the cold weather. We're putting the pieces together as we prepare to race and we look forward to testing on a track that we'll race at in 2015."

Next week, the Indy Lights drivers will head to Barber Motorsports Park for another two-day test on February 24-25. The Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires season officially kicks off on Saturday, March 28.

About Schmidt Peterson Motorsports: Schmidt Peterson Motorsports (SPM) was established in 2001 and is owned by former IndyCar driver Sam Schmidt and Canadian businessman Ric Peterson. Schmidt was paralyzed (quad) in 2000 after an accident during testing at Walt Disney World Speedway in Orlando, Fla. SPM fields cars in the Verizon IndyCar Series, including the Indianapolis 500, and the Indy Lights Series presented by Cooper Tires. SPM is the most successful team in Indy Lights Series history with sixty-five race wins and seven championships. In addition, SPM won the coveted Indy 500 pole position in 2011, and has won four Verizon IndyCar Series races in 2013 and 2014. In 2015, SPM will field two full-season Verizon IndyCar Series entries driven by James Hinchcliffe (#77) and James Jakes (#7), and four full-season Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires entries, driven by Scott Anderson (#77), RC Enerson (#7), Jack Harvey (#42) and Ethan Ringel (#71).