INDYCAR: Vautier To Complete Schmidt's Two-Car Expansion

INDYCAR: Vautier To Complete Schmidt’s Two-Car Expansion

The 23-year-old phenom has come to terms with the team that carried him to the 2012 Lights title, completes a promising all-French lineup for SPM.

Marshall Pruett | Posted January 28, 2013

Tristan Vautier spent last week as part of Mazda's factory Rolex 24 At Daytona team, and will now start preparing for his new role as one half of the scary-good SPM IndyCar team. (Photo: Marshall Pruett)

Sam Schmidt and new partner Ric Peterson now have the two-car expansion they wanted, Honda now have the teammate for Simon Pagenaud it sought all last season, and the rest of the IndyCar paddock now have a reason to be concerned.

As SPEED.com has recently chronicled, interest has grown in reigning Firestone Indy Lights Series champion Tristan Vautier after he made an emphatic IndyCar testing debut in early December with Schmidt Peterson Motorsports. Prior to the test, Vautier had dreams of joining the IndyCar Series, but it was his performance at the Sebring test that accelerated an interest in his services by SPM and Dragon Racing.

Dragon Racing looked like it was in pole position to sign the open-wheel phenom as teammate to 4-time Champ Car champion Sebastien Bourdais, but as I learned late last week, Vautier opted to sign for SPM.

"I've been talking with team owner Sam Schmidt since the end of last season in Fontana," said Vautier. "I look forward to representing SPM, Honda and all the team's partners this year, as well as to working with the crew and Simon (Pagenaud)."

Not only has the 23-year-old come to terms with the team that carried him to the 2012 Lights title, but he'll also complete an all-French lineup for SPM with an incredible arsenal of engineering and mechanical support behind him.

The team's recent re-acquisition of championship-winning engineer Allen McDonald has been the biggest move among IndyCar personnel during the off-season, and coupled with the driving and mentoring talents of Pagenaud and the technical wizardry of his engineer Ben Bretzman, Vautier is stepping into the strongest scenario for an IndyCar rookie in recent memory.

"We achieved success with Simon Pagenaud last season as a properly run single-car team, but I believe we'll be even better with two cars given the chemistry of the package and personnel we have put together for this program," said co-owner Schmidt. "You really need to run two cars to reap the benefits of two sets of data and vie for the championship at this level."

Completing the funding to run Vautier has been an ongoing process, with a multitude of public and private backers stepping up to ensure the Mazda Road To Indy poster child becomes an IndyCar driver.

Along with Josef Newgarden, Vautier is now the second consecutive Lights champion to graduate directly into a full-time IndyCar Series ride, which can only help the ladder series as it looks to bolster its declining grid.

The series also confirmed Vautier will receive the full $1 million advancement prize due to signing to drive for a team that does not have a Leader Circle contract for the second entry he will pilot.

MISC

• Ganassi Racing IndyCar driver Charlie Kimball was part of the winning Rolex 24 At Daytona team on Sunday, earning a beautiful new Rolex watch in his very first endurance race.

• Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing has signed Mike Conway to a one-off drive at the Long Beach Grand Prix in its second entry alongside Graham Rahal. The car's sponsor, which will be announced at a later date, could expand its role with the team, and it's believed former Penske driver Ryan Briscoe was under consideration for the seat, but turned it down in favor of searching for a full-time ride.

• The number of IndyCar principals in attendance at last week's Rolex 24 At Daytona was noteworthy. Not only did I see more owner than ever before, but many expressed an interest in adding sports car programs to their open-wheel efforts when the ALMS and GRAND-AM come together under a unified series in 2014.

•There's no need to ask which team this Bay Area native will be rooting for when the San Francisco 49ers and Baltimore Ravens face off in the Super Bowl, and if I'm lucky, I might get a chance to sample in the fruits of the wager placed between my local Sonoma Raceway and the promoters of the Baltimore Grand Prix.

“I spent a few of my younger years in a suburb of Baltimore called Washington DC, and I know how tasty those Chesapeake Bay crabs can be,” said Steve Page, president and general manager of Sonoma Raceway, in a release sent out by the track. “I appreciate the generous offer and look forward to sharing those delicious crab cakes with our staff… Go Niners!” If the Ravens win, Page will be sending copious amounts of wine to Charm City.

• The marvelous Historic Sportscar Racing (HSR) vintage racing organization is in talks to support the IndyCar season opener at St. Petersburg. Not only do I think this needs to get the green light from IndyCar, but adding a vintage support series to every round would be a perfect way to bring many eras of racing fans together while on the IndyCar championship trail.

• Open-wheel driver-turned-reality TV star Arie Luyendyk Jr. is hoping to use funding from fans to find a home in Robby Gordon's new stadium truck series.

Marshall Pruett is SPEED.com's Auto Racing Editor, covering IndyCar and sports cars. Now in his 27th year in the sport, Pruett was an open-wheel mechanic, engineer and manager before joining SPEED. He also contributes to RACER, Road & Track and Racecar Engineering. Follow him @MarshallPruett.