Oriol Servia gets part-time Rahal IndyCar seat for 2014
Oriol Servia has joined Rahal Letterman Lanigan to drive a limited schedule in the team's second car for the 2014 IndyCar season
The Spaniard has been without a full-time drive since Dreyer & Reinbold Racing withdrew from the 2013 season after the Indianapolis 500, although he shared the Panther Racing seat with Ryan Briscoe during the second half of the year.
His RLL deal will put him on the grid for Long Beach, Barber, and the two races at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, with additional races to be added if sponsorship can be secured. Graham Rahal will contest the full season in the sister car.
"Continuity is a very important part of success in any racing team," said Servia, who raced with RLL at the 2009 Indy 500.
"By my moving to Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, this happens at many different levels.
"On the team side, in 2009 we did the 500 together as a one-off race. We were running very strong until we had a fuel pump fail on us, but that one race left us with a sensation that we could do great things together.
"That same year I did a short stint at Newman/Haas where my team-mate was Graham, and that also started a great chemistry between us that translated to results on track where we finished third and fourth in the last race we ran."
Team principal Bobby Rahal said that the Servia's experience would be an asset to the squad.
"I have always respected his ability to develop the racecar and be a productive member of the team, so when it came time to consider the possibility of a second entry he was right at the top of the list," Rahal said.
"We are happy to have him back and look forward to having him help the team progress toward the front."
Servia will participate in the open test at Barber on March 17-18.
2014 IndyCar line-up so far: Team Engine Driver(s) AJ Foyt Racing Honda Takuma Sato Andretti Autosport Honda M Andretti/C Munoz/J Hinchcliffe/R Hunter-Reay Bryan Herta Autosport Honda J Hawksworth Chip Ganassi Racing Chevy S Dixon/T Kanaan/R Briscoe/C Kimball Dale Coyne Racing Honda Justin Wilson/tba Ed Carpenter Racing Chevy Ed Carpenter (ovals)/Mike Conway (road/street) KV Racing Technology Chevy Sebastien Bourdais/Sebastian Saavedra Panther Racing Chevy Tba Rahal Letterman Racing Honda Graham Rahal Sarah Fisher Hartman Honda Josef Newgarden Schmidt Peterson Honda Mikhail Aleshin/Simon Pagenaud Team Penske Chevy JP Montoya/H Castroneves/W Power Part-time: Oriol Servia RLL Four races Kurt Busch Andretti Indy 500 Jacques Villeneuve Schmidt Indy 500 Martin Plowman Foyt Both Indy rounds
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