Kiffin Simpson’s magical test tour continues with Chip Ganassi Racing’s 2024 NTT IndyCar Series rookie driving a Cadillac V during the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) rookie test at Bahrain International on November 5th. He completed laps in the Series.R sports car and added new destinations. circuit.
Simpson, who is stepping up to the powerful Ganassi team after two seasons in Indy NXT with Firestone, completed 42 laps in a prototype with a setup devised by Alex Lynn, one of the full-time WEC drivers in the factory Cadillac program. did.
“Honestly, it was a lot of fun. I thought it was a really cool car to drive and it was a new experience for me,” Simpson said. “This is a very high-tech car and I learned a lot, but it was a great experience and I’m grateful to GM and Chip Ganassi Racing for this opportunity.
“It drives more like a GT car (compared to LMP2) and I thought that was really interesting. It has so much power that it gets up to speed quickly. The team was very happy with it. I think that there.”
The test continued an aggressive off-season testing program on a variety of machines designed by CGR Managing Director Mike Hull for the 19-year-old Cayman Islander. Simpson has also tested previous generation Formula 2 cars, World Series cars and CGR’s NTT IndyCar Series car.
Sports car competition is nothing new for Simpson. He will drive in the European Le Mans Series in 2023, co-driving in the Asian Le Mans Series’ 4 Hours of Dubai and the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship’s 12 Hours of Sebring, where he won the LMP2 class. fulfilled. He also drove in the Rolex 24 at Daytona in January as a teammate of Team Penske stars Joseph Newgarden and Scott McLaughlin.
Firestone driver Josh Pearson’s INDY NXT also took part in the rookie test in Bahrain, completing laps in the No. 7 Toyota GR010 HYBRID prototype.