Newly crowned Formula E champion Antonio Felix da Costa has been called up by Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing to test an IndyCar for the first time in his career.
The DS Techeetah FE driver is set to drive the Honda-powered Dallara at Barber Motorsports Park in Alabama, which lost its 5 April slot on the 2020 IndyCar schedule owing to the global coronavirus crisis, on 2 November.
Former BMW DTM driver da Costa is known to team co-owner Bobby Rahal through long-standing connections with the German manufacturer.
The five-time E-Prix winner previously raced for the marque’s Andretti-run FE squad and World Endurance Championship programme, with da Costa developing the M8 GTE racer ahead of its competitive debut in the 2018 Daytona 24 Hours.
Rahal, meanwhile, owns the RLL-badged BMW squad that competes in the GTLM ranks of the IMSA SportsCar championship.
Da Costa said: “I have never hidden the fact that it’s a big dream of mine to come try out an Indycar.
“I am a big fan of how America, and IndyCar in particular, goes about the sport and have been a huge fan for many years.
“I have known Bobby for a few years.
“We always met at the BMW Christmas dinners and every year I kept saying ‘Come on, let me have a go’ and finally now I got the call to come meet the team and test.
INDY CAR TEST! This will be fun! Massive thanks to @RLLracing for the shot! Always wanted to come and try one of these! See you in Barber November 2nd. @IndyCar pic.twitter.com/BneJtGw1LM
— Antonio Felix da Costa (@afelixdacosta) October 14, 2020
“It’s very exciting times for me and something I have been looking forward to a lot.
“The first contact with the team has been very positive and everyone has been friendly.
“I can see there is a high level of professionalism in the team which was to be expected. I’m excited to get on track.”
Rahal, who co-owners the RLL IndyCar squad with renowned American talk show host David Letterman, added: “We were unable to maximize a full team test using one of our three days, since Graham is waiting for the arrival of his first child so this enables us to test a young and very accomplished driver in Antonio Felix da Costa.
“Through our partnership with BMW on the sportscar side, we have followed his career and are excited to see what he can do in an Indycar.”
Fellow team co-owner Mike Lanigan said: “We have heard a lot of great things about this young man’s talent and look forward to good results from our test at Barber Motorsports Park.
“It always adds value to get another perspective and we are confident he can provide good insight.”