Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing has announced that it will field a fourth car at the upcoming Grand Prix of Portland, placing Juri Vips behind the wheel.
Vips, a veteran of Formula 2, raced with RLL for two events at the end of last season, earning 18th and 24th place finishes in the process.
The results do not accurately represent the pace he showed, however, as he nearly advanced into the Firestone Fast Six during qualifying at Laguna Seca. An early crash put a quick end to his hopes of having a strong result to his name.
He has been working with the team since those debut weekends, and has now been handed at least one more IndyCar outing for the final road course race of the 2024 season.
“I’m very grateful to the team for giving me this opportunity,” said Vips. “I have been working closely with the team on the simulator program and it has been a year since I have been in the car, but I’m confident that the experience gained last year at Portland and Laguna Seca will help me to get up to speed quickly.
“It will still be a very big challenge and one I am very much looking forward to.”
Vips, who is about to turn 24 years old, gained experience on the Portland track last year and he will look to use that familiarity to improve his race pace when he returns for the event on August 25.
He will be driving the #75 entry with Amada sponsorship, which also adorned RLL’s fourth entry in this year’s Indy 500.
“We’re pleased to be able to run Juri in Portland for a number of reasons,” explained Bobby Rahal. “For one, he showed at both Portland and Laguna Seca last year that he certainly has the pace to feature in any event he runs with us.
“He has done a lot of work for us in the simulator this year, which has helped us understand the hybrid system, so it’s nice to reward him for his effort. I’m hopeful that this will lead to more races for him with RLL.”
