Written by Dan Jones
Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing (RLL) have confirmed that Juri Vips will drive a fourth entry for the team in August's Grand Prix of Portland, the venue the Estonian driver made his debut at in 2023, with the ex- Red Bull junior occupying the No. 75, which was driven by Takuma Sato at the 108th Running of the Indianapolis 500.
Vips, 23, gained his first experience in the series toward the back-end of 2023, driving for the team at the final two rounds at Portland International Raceway and WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, with a best finish of 18th in Portland. Vips did impress, qualifying for the Fast 12 in Laguna Seca, before being caught up in a Lap One incident.
Vips was rumoured to turn full-time with the team in 2024, before RLL opted for Pietro Fittipaldi on a multi-year deal, with Vips dropping down to a reserve role, doing simulator work for both the team's IndyCar outfit and the IMSA SportsCar Championship.
Vips was widely expected to get an opportunity at some point this year, which will come at Portland, the only remaining road course of 2024. Vips expressed his interest at driving on an oval for the first time in his career, but has not completed the necessary testing.
Vips stated: "I'm very grateful to the team for giving me this opportunity. 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.”
Team owner, Bobby Rahal, added: "We’re pleased to be able to run Juri in Portland for a number of reasons. 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.”
RLL will switch to four cars for Portland's race, with Vips' appearance potentially influential toward possibilities of a full-time 2025 seat, with Christian Lundgaard vacating the team at the end of the season as he switches to Arrow McLaren.
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