TORONTO, CANADA – James Hinchcliffe will be the first to tell you that it was a long off-season but that’s about to change for the Canadian racer with the opening round of the 2010 Firestone Indy Lights Series taking place this weekend in St. Petersburg, Florida, Friday 26th – Sunday 28th March.
Entering his sophomore season in IndyCar’s official feeder series, ‘Hinch’ is confident of a strong showing on the 1.8-mile temporary street circuit on Sunday. While he’s set to make his race debut with Team Moore Racing, the Toronto native has already demonstrated pace-setting form in pre-season testing and he enjoyed a strong showing in last year’s event in St. Petersburg – claiming a third-place podium finish.
James topped the timetables in pre-season testing last month at Barber Motorsports Park, home to Round 2 of this year’s championship battle. It was an encouraging start for the Canadian as he dialed himself into the #2 Team Moore Racing Dallara-Firestone entry.
“I can’t wait to get going,” stated James as he departed. “I’ve kept myself busy during the off-season, in particular working on my fitness, but there’s no substitute for the thrill of racing and seeing how everyone stacks up. I’m delighted to be competing for Team Moore Racing and we’ve proved already that we have the potential to be front-runners.
“I’m also looking forward to this weekend as it’s my first as an official member of IndyCar’s pace-car team. It’s great to have that level of participation with the main series and we’ll be kept busy as part of that team both on and off track. It was hard seeing IndyCar having their opening race a couple of weeks ago in Brazil but now it’s our turn and the start of what I’m sure will be another great season.”
James’ return to the cockpit follows a successful 2009, his first in Indy Lights competition. An impressive rookie year netted Hinchcliffe a total of five podium finishes, recorded on both road-courses and ovals – including a popular home podium in Toronto last July. He finished the season fifth overall in the Driver Standings.
Round 1 of the 2010 Firestone Indy Lights Series gets underway at Noon ET on Sunday, March 28. Visit www.indycar.com or www.hinchtown.com for more info.
Courtesy SM-PR
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