Dalziel to Make Champ Car Debut

The 23-year-old from Lanarkshire has been racing sportscars this year and flew from the American Le Mans Series event at Lime Rock Park to test the DCR Champ Car at Putnam Park, Indiana on Tuesday.

"This is obviously a fantastic opportunity for me and one I've been working towards since I first competed in North America back in 2002," said Dalziel, who finished runner-up in the Toyota Atlantic feeder series in 2004.

"I can't wait to strap into the car and finally race one of these cars having tested them on several occasions. I've raced against quite a few of the guys on the grid already and am looking forward to renewing some on-track rivalries."

Dalziel becomes the fourth different occupant of the #19 American Medical Response entry so far this season. The musical chairs began when Oriol Servia left for Newman/Haas Racing before round three at Milwaukee. Since then, Dalziel's fellow Atlantic grad Michael Valiante and ex-Formula 1 driver Tarso Marques have each had cameo appearances.

Dalziel hopes he will be sticking around a little longer.

"If all goes well then I'm hoping the opportunity extends beyond Toronto," he said.

Team owner Dale Coyne was impressed with Dalziel's performance in the Putnam Park test but was non-committal about his longer-term prospects with the team.

"We always enjoy bringing on drivers who've proved themselves in the Toyota Atlantic Championship and Ryan's no different," Coyne said.

"We had a list of drivers to consider for the ride in Toronto but Ryan came highly recommended. We've since talked quite a bit about him in the team and today's test underlined what we already knew about him.

"I'm looking forward to running Ryan in Toronto and seeing what develops from there."

Dalziel is eyeing a drive with PKV Racing for 2006, having tested impressively for the team last winter and served as a 'consultant' at races this year. He is tipped to take over Jimmy Vasser's seat in the event that the veteran decides to hang up his helmet and concentrate on his ownership role.