Nelson Piquet Jr to make Indy Lights debut with Carlin

Piquet has raced extensively in the US in recent years, including in NASCAR's three tiers and a current campaign in the Global RallyCross Championship, but it will be the ex-F1 driver's first single-seater outing in the region.

Having won last Saturday's Moscow Formula E race, Piquet will deputise for Max Chilton, who will be at the Le Mans 24 Hours with Nissan.

"I'm really looking forward to my Indy Lights debut with Carlin," Piquet said.

"I've been competing in a broad range of racing over the past few years and this will be another new experience for me.

"I love open wheel racing but haven't yet tried it in a US-based series, so Toronto is going to be interesting."

While rookie Ed Jones sits second in the standings, Carlin was keen to enlist an experienced hand to aid its maiden Indy Lights campaign.

"In Max's absence we wanted another strong driver to help push the team forward," team boss Trevor Carlin said.

"We know that despite having no experience of the Indy Lights car, Nelson will push to the maximum from the start and that's what we're looking for this weekend.

"We've known Nelson since racing against him when he became British F3 Champion in 2004 and have seen many times since then his outright pace.

"He's shown in Formula E he's a master of street circuits and I'm excited to see what he and Ed can achieve together this weekend."