Harvey’s departure from Meyer Shank Racing was the first, and arguably most surprising, market news of this season. At that point, the British driver was linked to the team owned by Bobby Rahal, David Letterman and Mike Lanigan, but all parties involved remained with their mouths closed on the matter.
However, in August, RLL announced its intention to field its third car full-time in 2022, the one that was brought to the track part-time by Santino Ferrucci, Christian Lundgaard and Oliver Askew in 2021.
Then last week the departure of Takuma Sato was also announced and, although at the moment there is only speculation as to who will take his place (according to Motorsport.com the favorite would be Christian Lundgaard), it has been confirmed that at the wheel the # 45 car will be Harvey.
Harvey, who finished third in the 2019 Indianapolis GP as best result, but who started five times in the top 5 last season, described his move to RLL as “an exciting new chapter”.
“I have worked for this moment throughout my career and am honored by the trust Bobby, Mike, David and Piers (Phillips, the president of RLL) have placed in me. I am looking forward to working with Graham and the whole team.” Harvey said.
“We have a common goal of fighting for the win and for the championship, and I am confident that we can be in contention right from the start of next year. This is an exciting new chapter and I can’t wait to find out what awaits us.” , he added.
“I can’t tell you how happy I am to welcome Jack to our team,” said Rahal of signing the two-time Indy Lights runner-up. “He’s a driver who has won a lot in the training categories, so I’m happy he agreed to join us.”
“He and Graham will work well together and will be a solid foundation for our training. I respect and appreciate his commitment and work ethic, on and off the track, because it’s something fundamental. And I also respect the way he treats people, friendly and respectful. I think we can be very successful together, so I can’t wait to get started. “
Lanigan also echoed his teammate’s comments, saying: “I’ve only heard good things about Jack and I think he will work well with our team. I think it’s important that our riders integrate well with each other, but I know Graham. he has a lot of respect for him. He has shown great potential, on which we want to build something important. “
The Hy-Vee Inc.-backed # 45 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing-Honda, as driven by Oliver Askew in the final three races of the 2021 IndyCar season.
Photo by: Jake Galstad / Motorsport Images