Indy Lights struggles to attract new faces

“We’ve been lucky this year that seven cars have so often put on a decent show.” murmured one close observer of junior US open-wheel racing.

He was referring to the Indy Lights Championship which has suffered badly since the four-car Schmidt Peterson Motorsports outfit ended its involvement in the series before the 2017 season, and the same-size Carlin squad followed it out of the door 12 months later.

This season, there have only been seven cars – four from Andretti Autosport, two from Belardi Auto Racing and a solitary entry from Juncos Racing – attend all the races, and a couple of those have been on a wing and a prayer.

And yet, like the observer said, there has been good racing. Last weekend’s race at Gateway Motorsports Park was one of the very best, with the edgy wheel-to-wheel battle over fourth place between the Belardi cars of Aaron Telitz and Santi Urrutia (resolved in the latter’s favor) then being overshadowed by the fight for the lead. That included Ryan Norman stalking team-mate Colton Herta into the closing 10 laps and then mounting an ultimately successful charge in which neither driver showed any sign of backing down, but resolved itself in Norman’s favour. It was his first win in the series, while Herta’s second place – one spot ahead of points leader and another team-mate Pato O’ward – leaves him 25 points out of the lead with two rounds, both at Portland this weekend, to go.

Now Mazda – which, since 2011, has been the prime supporter of Indy Lights, Pro Mazda and USF2000 through the

Road to Indy schloarship scheme – has announced it’s pulling out at season’s end, although it will honour its prize money promise. That means the Lights champion will receive $1million and a guaranteed three-race deal with an Indycar team.

It’s unquestionably a big help for any rising star, but which company will replace Mazda?

“No-one can tell us anything right now,” said one disgruntled team owner. “That’s not helping us find our next drivers, especially when the costs – the real costs – are much higher than what it says on the PR sheet.”