Marcus Armstrong was one of three drivers that completed his Indy 500 Rookie Orientation Program on Wednesday, and he labeled the experience as ‘special.’

He took to the famous 2.5-mile oval at nearly 220 MPH in his Chip Ganassi Racing Honda, running 93 laps and earning the approval of IndyCar officials to compete in next year’s Indy 500 with no restrictions.

Speaking after nearly four hours of on-track time, Armstrong described the feeling of racing around the banking at one of the most famous race tracks in the world.

“Yeah, it was special, honestly,” said Armstrong after his runs. “I didn’t know what to expect in many ways coming here. I’ve obviously done a few laps around Texas before. So having not a lot of oval experience, coming here, it’s not easy.

“It’s very high speeds, a lot of nuances to this track, a lot of details. So if I’m honest, I wasn’t nervous about doing it. It was more so just about trying to get the first run out of the way so we know what to do better next time.

“But, yeah, to drive on this circuit at proper speeds after phase three, I would say still it’s a long way off quali speed, but it was incredible, you know.

“I have watched this place since I was a kid. So to drive around here in anger at flat-out is pretty crazy. It’s pretty special.

“But I don’t really want to think about that when I’m driving because that’s never a good thing. I can reflect on it now, but when I was in the moment, it was quite smooth sailing,

“Not a lot of nerves, to be honest. But it was good to get this Rookie Orientation out of the way so we can sort of crack on when it all kicks off next year.

“It met my expectations, with honors, so it was a lot of fun. I must say it was perfect conditions. No wind, cold, and obviously our car was pretty rock solid today. So it wasn’t difficult circumstances. But yeah, I loved it.”

Armstrong rose through the European ladder system, including a three year stint in F2, and has had no prior oval racing experience.

He plans to contest the full IndyCar season next year, which means he will need to familiarize himself with the varied disciplines that the American open wheel series demands.

Armstrong officially completed his orientation in the morning session on Wednesday, and went back on track in the afternoon to complete more running at full speed.

The 23-year-old was happy to have the extra practice time available, and soaked up as much knowledge as he could in the time he had available.

“Yeah, [running again in the afternoon] was ideal, really,” continued Armstrong. “When they told us that we could do a few more laps after we finished the three phases.

“Obviously we’re fairly limited on tires, but it was enough to do quite a decent run. I think we got — yeah, we got quite a few laps in. I think the more laps the better. Especially when you haven’t driven here.

“Even if we are circulating at just flat out, every lap you are learning something.”

The first official practice sessions for the 108th running of the Indianapolis 500 will take place the week of May 13, with the race itself scheduled for May 26.

Three IndyCar rookies took to the 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval for the first time on Wednesday, turning high speed laps on the banking.

Linus Lundqvist, Marcus Armstrong, and Tom Blomqvist all participated, with Chip Ganassi Racing and Meyer Shank Racing providing the machinery and support.

The Rookie Orientation Program is required for first-time participants in the Indianapolis 500, and is designed to give drivers a chance to get used to the high speeds and unique challenges.

Each driver completed 10 laps between 205 and 210 MPH, then 10 more laps between 210 and 215 MPH, then was released to run above 215 MPH to complete the certification process.

IndyCar officials watched on during the entire session, and gave their approval of each drivers’ capabilities at each stage.

All three drivers completed their orientation before the lunch break, and now have permission to compete in the Indianapolis 500 proceedings next May.

Lundqvist was the first to complete his program, running 54 laps despite his car coming to a stop on track 90 minutes into the morning session.

The issue was quickly resolved, however, and he continued on his way shortly after his car was towed back to pit lane.

His fastest lap of the two hour morning session was the fastest of all three drivers, and was completed at an average pace of 219.504 MPH.

“What a place this is!” said Lundqvist after his runs. “So many times you’ve been here as a fan, as a bystander watching everyone else race. Now to be able to drive it myself, it’s incredible. It’s so fast.

“The history and legacy of this place, it feels surreal, honestly, driving it. It was actually my first time ever in a Chip Ganassi Racing car as well, so kind of double happiness for me this morning.

“We have a lunch break, going to go back out this afternoon again to learn a little bit more. It’s going to take a long time for this smile to fade off my face.”

All three drivers will complete more laps in the afternoon, and will use their three allocated sets of Firestone tires to get as much practice in as they can.

Kyle Larson will be on track on Thursday to run through his own orientation program, and then the 2.5-mile speedway will be dedicated to testing of IndyCar’s new hybrid engine package for the remainder of the week.

Marcus Armstrong locked up the 2023 IndyCar Rookie of the Year award in Laguna Seca this weekend, earning bragging rights that he can carry with him as he continues his career.

The 23-year-old beat out Agustin Canapino in the standings by earning 34 more points over the course of the season, with the battle coming down to the final race of the year.

Armstrong’s achievement is particularly impressive considering he only contested the season’s road and street courses, meaning he had five fewer races in which he was earning points.

Despite the handicap, he still was able to outperform the other newcomers, with his previous experience in Formula 2 helping him to walk away from the season as the most productive rookie.

“It was nice to finally talk about what I have in store for the future with Chip Ganassi Racing,” said the typically soft-spoken Armstrong. “As well, to win the Rookie of the Year championship, I’m extremely pleased to finally lock that down.

“Obviously we didn’t do five races, so it was going to be a tough ask, for sure. But nevertheless, I think we finished every race. We were consistent. We had some good results.

“Sometimes I think we could have done a lot better. Yeah, we were consistent and fast enough to win it without the ovals.

“I feel like [Formula 2] was a good learning class for an IndyCar season. There is obviously nuances to IndyCar, like this car is very intense, the steering kickback is a lot, for whatever reason.

“The racing is pretty ruthless. There’s still some learning to be done.”

Armstrong was regularly the highest-finishing rookie throughout the season, and earned an incredible five top 10 finishes in the 12 races he contested.

He also earned himself a nice contract extension with Chip Ganassi Racing, which is arguably the most competitive team on the current IndyCar grid.

Starting in 2024, the Kiwi will be running a full season schedule, including racing on ovals for the first time in his career.

He will get his first chance to sample the banking at Texas Motor Speedway next week as he prepares for a new challenge next season.

Chip Ganassi Racing has announced that Marcus Armstrong will return to the team next season, driving the full IndyCar season.

The deal allows the 23-year-old to compete on ovals for the first time, as he only contested the road and street courses this year.

Despite the limited schedule, Armstrong leads the rookie points standings and is very likely to take the Rookie of the Year title after this weekend’s season finale at Laguna Seca.

Ganassi’s deal with the New Zealander is a multi-year agreement, meaning he will be racing alongside champions Scott Dixon and Alex Palou for the foreseeable future.

“I am very proud and excited to continue with Chip Ganassi Racing for next year and beyond,” said Armstrong. “Together with this very talented and experienced team, I am confident we can compete at the highest level in this championship.

“I feel very grateful that Chip has given me the time to adapt to IndyCar and has helped me every step of the way in what has been a good season.

“I’ve spent the year learning from a great group of people, including my teammates and Dario. I’m very grateful for how much help I’ve received from each team member.

“With a season under my belt, I now want to turn these lessons into results. I will be racing on the ovals for the first time next year and it’s an exciting challenge that I’m confident I can learn quickly.

“I spent the entire month of May either in the engineering office or in the pit stand this year, trying to familiarize myself with the details of oval racing. It’s a challenge that excites me a lot.”

After joining IndyCar from Formula 2 at the start of this year, Armstrong has become more and more open to the idea of racing on ovals.

There was a chance he would get his first taste of the new discipline late in the 2023 season, but Takuma Sato was eventually confirmed to be running all five oval rounds in the #11.

Armstrong will get his first experience behind the wheel on the banking at a private test session at Texas Motor Speedway on September 13, shortly after this season concludes.

Marcus Armstrong is running this season’s road and street courses for Chip Ganassi Racing, driving as the lone rookie in the team’s powerful four-driver lineup.

Despite not running the four ovals contested so far this year, he still leads IndyCar’s rookie points standings and is hopeful that he can stay there for the remainder of the season.

Armstrong is beginning to be asked more frequently what his plans are for next year, and if he will be running the full schedule.

The 23-year-old Kiwi is certainly warming up to the idea of racing ovals along with the road races, and feels that his current position at CGR is one of the best places he could be to try out the new venture.

“I haven’t exactly kept it a secret, but I’d love to stay here at Chip Ganassi Racing,” said Armstrong about his future plans.

“I think I’ve been reasonably vocal about trying ovals for the first time. It would be a dream come true to compete at the Indy 500.

“At the moment my focus is on just getting good results because my own results is going to help me in the long-term. Yeah, it’s not really in my hands on the contractual side, let’s say.

“All I can do is just compete at the maximum of my ability, try and stay present, which is fairly easy seeing as though it’s going well. The team, it’s a very enjoyable environment. I feel like it’s all training in the right direction. I just have to keep pumping out some good results.”

Just before it was announced that Takuma Sato would be driving the #11 entry for the remaining oval rounds of the season, Armstrong began to talk more openly about his desire to try his hand at oval racing.

It is a discipline that he has not yet had a chance to try out on account of his European racing background, but it is one that has garnered his interest this season.

His time spent on the CGR pit box this season has also made him realize there are a lot of skills that he does not yet have that are needed to be successful on the banking.

“What I find intriguing is just how one guy can get momentum at one part of a race and just create such a pace deficit compared to everyone else,” continued Armstrong. “I’m still trying to figure out how we can manage that.

“Also, watching the way that Scott [Dixon] drives compared to everyone really in the team, there’s so many different ways to achieve the same lap time. There’s just so many styles. I feel like that’s intriguing.

“And, yeah, I think the way that everyone achieves the same lap time in totally different ways, that’s quite interesting to me. I just sort of want to experience it and understand what I feel it needs and what I feel I need to do to get the best lap time.”

There is one final oval race of the 2023 IndyCar season yet to come, and Sato will be driving the #11 Honda for that round at World Wide Technology Raceway as well.

The other four remaining races are on road and street courses, giving Armstrong plenty of opportunity to improve on his season best finish of sixth that he earned in Toronto.

Chip Ganassi Racing has confirmed that Takuma Sato will remain in the #11 entry for the remaining oval rounds this season.

Sato was originally announced as the driver for all five of the season’s oval events, but word came as the season was getting under way that the confirmed portion of the deal only involved the races at Texas Motor Speedway and the Indianapolis 500.

Marcus Armstrong is driving the #11 for the season’s road and street races, and had shown an increasing desire to try out a short oval for the first time as the year progressed.

The 22-year-old told Motorsportweek.com at the recent event at Road America that he would be love to try out the discipline soon.

“I would love to do it,” said Armstrong. “It’s something that interests me a lot. And the decision is not mine.

“It’s entertaining and extremely challenging. It’s something that I want to learn about quickly so I can understand how to get the results. Something that I never experienced.

“The more experience you have, the better you can ultimately perform.

“A lot of European guys have done really well, like Marcus [Ericsson], Alex [Palou], and everyone really. All the lads that I’ve raced with in the past have done quite well on ovals.

“I’d be keen to do it given the opportunity.”

Even though Armstrong would have been happy to have a few more races to run this season, he will have to wait until at least the end of the year to sample the new type of track.

A Ganassi representative confirmed that the rookie could be given a change to try out an oval at a test session near the end of the season.

Sato finished 28th at Texas Motor Speedway following a crash, but earned a seventh place result at the Indy 500.

The 46-year-old will be back in the #11 next month for the doubleheader from Iowa Speedway, and then again in August for the race from World Wide Technology Raceway.

Chip Ganassi Racing has hired the Formula 2 veteran Marcus Armstrong to drive in a newly-branded #11 entry for the road and street courses next season.

Armstrong will be driving a bulk of the races for the team’s fourth entry, which was vacated when Jimmie Johnson decided to end his full time racing career at the end of last season.

“I’m ecstatic to be a part of the IndyCar Series, but especially with Chip Ganassi Racing because it is such an iconic and successful team,” said Armstrong.  “I have an extraordinary opportunity in front of me to learn from people that have been performing at the absolute highest level in this sport.

“As a Kiwi, I’ve always watched Scott Dixon succeed in the championship with this team, so on a personal level this is quite special for me.  I am a hard worker that looks to improve every single day.

“With the knowledge and personnel that this team has, I’m very excited to take on this new challenge.”

Armstrong has run the past three seasons in Formula 2, driving for a few different teams and maintaining his Ferrari Development Driver status as he searched for a way to progress his young career even further.

The New Zealander won three races in 2022 driving for Hitech, but failed to consistently fight at the front of the field and finished the championship in the middle of the pack.

The 22-year-old will be driving alongside the talented veterans of Scott Dixon, Marcus Ericsson, and Alex Palou, and has plans to visit Indianapolis and meet his talented team-mates next week.

A driver for the #11 for the remaining five oval races has not yet been announced.

A host of drivers were able to sample an IndyCar for the first time on Wednesday at a private test session held at Sebring Raceway.

Instead of the usual slate of current IndyCar drivers, the offseason test was populated with drivers that are only just getting to know the Dallara chassis for the first time.

Five drivers in total were on track over the course of the day, each with different motivations for taking part in the private test.

Driving a Meyer Shank Racing entry was Tom Blomqvist, who has been lighting up the scoreboards driving for the team in an IMSA DPi prototype and set the fastest lap of the day.

Blomqvist completed a lap of 52.708 seconds late in the afternoon, and was nearly a third of a second faster than the rest of the participants.

The 28-year-old is locked into sportscars for next season, but has shown interest in making a jump to IndyCar in the future if the opportunity presents itself.

Agustin Canapino was behind the wheel of the Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevy, preparing for a set of upcoming exhibition runs in his native Argentina.

The demonstration will take place next month in and around Buenos Aires, and will serve as a promotional event in team co-owner Ricardo Juncos’ home country.

Jake Dennis took to the track in an Andretti Autosport Honda, with the Formula E driver using his ties with the team to snag an opportunity to feel out the different discipline.

Rounding out the five participants were a pair of Formula 2 veterans Juri Vips and Marcus Armstrong.  The two drivers piloted entries from Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing and Dale Coyne Racing respectively.

Vips completed the most laps on the day, lapping the short Sebring course 155 times in the all-day session.

There was some talk that Armstrong was interested in becoming the next young driver the jump from the European ladder over to IndyCar for next season, but that has not yet materialized.

None of the drivers that participated in the late-autumn test have any solid plans to take part in the series in the near future, but completing a day of running around IndyCar’s winter home is a good way to get a foot in the door.

Marcus Armstrong produced one of his finest drives in the FIA Formula 2 Championship en route to his second race win of the season.

The New Zealander prevailed at the Red Bull Ring, adding to the victory that he took at Imola earlier this year.

Armstrong led from reverse grid pole position, and held on to his position through the opening corners from Theo Pourchaire.

Pourchaire followed in second place for much of the race, but couldn’t mount an attack on the Hitech Grand Prix driver in front.

Pourchaire crossed the line in second place, but is under investigation for a track limit violation, with several driver dished out penalties for exceeding the white lines on multiple occasions.

Jack Doohan closed in on Pourchaire in the final laps of the race, but couldn’t produce a move to progress into second place, and had to settle for third.

Championship leader Felipe Drugovich was fourth, ahead of Juri Vips in fifth.

Richard Verschoor was seventh, leading Carlin driver Logan Sargeant in seventh. Red Bull junior Ayumu Iwasa took the final point on offer in the Sprint Race by crossing the line in eighth.

Enzo Fittipaldi was ninth, while Dennis Hauger rounded out the top 10.

Sunday’s Feature Race will get underway at 10:05 local time.

Marcus Armstrong will compete for Hitech Grand Prix in this year’s FIA Formula 2 Championship.

The ex-Ferrari junior stepped up to the category with ART Grand Prix in 2020 and last year represented DAMS.

Armstrong claimed his sole victory to date at Jeddah en route to 13th place in the final standings.

Armstrong will link up with Red Bull junior Juri Vips at Hitech, having tested for the squad at the end of 2021.

“I’m thrilled to be joining Hitech this season in Formula 2,” said Armstrong.

“Team Principal Oliver Oakes brought me to Europe a few years back and I saw Hitech in the early days. Since then, it’s transformed into one of the powerhouses of Formula 2 and 3.

“I’m looking forward to be working with a successful group of people and giving it everything I’ve got in my new Hitech team this year.”

Only five seats now remain on this year’s Formula 2 grid, ahead of the opening round of 2022 alongside Formula 1’s Bahrain Grand Prix in mid-March.

Only ART Grand Prix, Campos Racing, Trident Motorsport, Charouz Racing System and Van Amersfoort Racing have a vacancy apiece.