Zane Maloney completed his first NTT IndyCar Series test and wants more. Presently fourth in the F2 championship on the strength of two wins and six podiums, Maloney is charting the path for his career when the F2 season ends. Meetings with several IndyCar teams have gone well, and in the test arranged with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing on Aug.
1, the F2 title contender spent the day in mixed conditions at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on its road course and completed approximately 100 laps in an RLL Dallara DW12-Honda. As the only car on the track, Maloney didn’t have the luxury of other drivers to use as a benchmark in the hybrid IndyCar, but he’s said to have been fast and efficient, which shouldn’t come as a surprise as other Formula 2 drivers — including RLL’s outgoing Christian Lundgaard, Juri Vips and reigning champion Theo Pourchaire — have been quick upon arrival in the American open-wheel series. “For a first test, I don’t think it could have gone too much better,” Maloney told RACER.
“I came straight from the last round of Formula 2 in Belgium, did the seat fit, a little bit of simulator and then straight onto the track. The team were very welcoming and went through everything that we needed to be prepared for the test. There was quite a lot of weather, so it was just two hours of running being lost because of the rain.
Otherwise, we got some good running in, lots of push laps. “With the IndyCar tires, compared to Formula 2, there’s a lot.