Vips driving for his RLL future at Portland
Juri Vips has one chance to make a final impression on Bobby Rahal, David Letterman and Mike Lanigan.
The Estonian arrives in Portland, site of the first half of his two-race NTT IndyCar Series debut for RLL in 2023, in a fourth entry for the team as it looks to lock in its replacement for the outgoing Christian Lundgaard.
With only Graham Rahal signed for 2025, RLL could also be in the market for a second driver next year if it elects to move on from newcomer Pietro Fittipaldi. For Vips, a strong weekend on the 1.9-mile road course could make the difference in whether he’s chosen to help lead the team in its next chapter.
“Definitely, a lot of movement in the driving market at the moment, and a lot of very, very strong free agents,” Vips told RACER. “I think this opportunity also couldn’t come at a better time, because hopefully I can remind everyone in the paddock that I can still drive and keep my name up in the list of people. I’m super grateful for the opportunity, obviously, from Bobby, and just want to get going already, as you can imagine.”
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Vips impressed on his IndyCar debut in Portland and the following weekend in Monterey, and while he’s only scheduled to compete in Oregon, track familiarity — despite spending nearly a year out of an Indy car — and solid road racing cars from RLL should allow the 24-year-old to give a proper account of his capabilities.
“We’ve done plenty of simulator runs through the year,” he said. “Unfortunately, they didn’t have Portland in the Honda sim, but to be honest, I feel much more prepared than I did last year. OK, I haven’t driven all year, but I already know the track, so naturally in my mind, I have some references from last year. And I’ve been through an IndyCar weekend now, so I know how everything works and how the rhythm of a weekend goes. It’s definitely not easy. I miss the kind of muscle memory of driving the car, but I do feel a lot more prepared than last year.”
Getting through Turn 1 on the first lap and any restarts will be key for Vips, who needs enough of the 110 laps on Sunday to make a statement in the high-pressure audition.
“I will try and do the exact same thing that I did last year, and just stay on the inside, because generally with gravity, if you do have a crash, it tends to migrate to the outside,” he said. “Last year wasn’t actually too messy into Turn 1. But I did manage to gain two spots from the inside last year. So I’m just gonna try and do the exact same thing — find a gap there.
“If I do a good job, I will be able to fight in the top 10 and for the top positions. It’s a good feeling for a driver because you just need to execute. You know that the car is going to be more or less in the window, so I’m just going to keep it simple and focus on my driving.”
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