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Formula V8 3.5 champion Pietro Fittipaldi will test for the Dale Coyne Racing IndyCar team again in the coming week both at Sonoma on Monday and on the Phoenix oval.
Phoenix is hosting IndyCar’s official ‘spring training’ pre-season test next Friday and Saturday, but Fittipaldi will drive one of DCR’s Dallara-Hondas in the Thursday rookie oval test.
As team owner Dale Coyne told Autosport last month, the plan is to run at least two drivers in the #19 car this year.
One will be Canadian Zachary Claman de Melo, who finished fifth in last year’s Indy Lights championship racing for Carlin and made his IndyCar debut in the 2017 season finale at Sonoma with Rahal Letterman Lanigan.
Fittipaldi moved into contention as the second driver after an impressive inaugural IndyCar test performance at Sebring (pictured above), and he could potentially sign a deal as early as this week.
Speculation over a possible third driver being involved has now faded, according to a team insider, although it is not yet clear which of the #19 entry’s drivers will compete in which races.
The #18 DCR car will be driven full-time by Sebastien Bourdais, who won last year’s season opener in St Petersburg but missed nine races after a huge shunt in qualifying for the Indianapolis 500.