22/01/2015
NEWS STORY
Max Chilton is to assist Carlin in its first season on the other side of the Atlantic with an eye on an IndyCar drive in 2016.
The former Marussia driver will join forces with the British team in a joint development programme ahead of its 2016 Verizon IndyCar Series ambitions. The youngster will assist with Carlin's preparations with the aiming of helping the team to success in its first season across the Atlantic, while also carrying out an IndyCar test programme in preparation for a possible 2016 campaign.
Chilton who contested two seasons with Marussia, has a strong history with Carlin, having previously been a race winner with the team in both the GP2 Series and earlier in his career in British F3.
The 22-year-old will carry out an important role helping the team get to grips with the new challenges of the Indy Lights series, which races on the same circuits as the headline IndyCar programme. Working alongside already confirmed driver Ed Jones, Chilton will use his experience to provide detailed feedback to the team while also building its IndyCar foundations for the future. He will take part in the three days of official testing next week at the Homestead circuit in Florida.
"I'm very excited to be assisting Carlin in the USA," said Chilton. "While I'm still considering my options for 2015, the IndyCar package presents an interesting challenge and by assisting with the development of the Indy Lights team I'm keeping my options open for an IndyCar programme in 2016 based on a strong foundation of knowledge and experience. Hopefully I can also help the guys at Carlin get as much as possible out of their first season in the USA."
"We are very excited to embark on a long term programme in America and to have Max involved in that from the very start will make us a strong package," added Trevor Carlin. "This season is very much about finding our feet as a team in the USA and Max's experience will be invaluable to that. For Max we see 2015 very much as a chance to prepare him for a successful potential debut in IndyCar in 2016 and it made sense to help each other in those preparations."