Oriol Servia adapts to new Dragon role, and isn’t done driving - MotorSportsTalk

MIAMI – He hasn’t been in a Verizon IndyCar Series race in 10 months, but with four FIA Formula E races under his belt since September, Oriol Servia has still banked more seat time than most of his IndyCar driver colleagues lately.

Now though, the popular Catalan is embracing his new role as partner and managing director of Jay Penske’s Dragon Racing, having been confirmed to the new role earlier this week.

It’s an interesting contrast for Servia, now 40, who spent parts of the 2000 through 2014 seasons (except 2010) with 11 different teams in CART, Champ Car or IndyCar – and Dragon isn’t among them.

But with his base in California near the team’s Los Angeles area headquarters, and with Penske looking to expand Servia’s role within the team, the new role made sense.

“Hopefully it’s a good one,” Servia said of his move during Friday��s FIA Formula E driver press conference. “Since I joined the series, and joining the team with Jay, I liked where the championship was going.

“From the beginning I was going to be involved in managing and operations. We decided I’d start driving because it’s what I’ve done all my life. I didn’t give up the wheel that easy, trust me.

“But a couple things happened. Loic Duval became available, and we’ve regarded him highly for a while. We saw the opportunity of me taking on a bigger role.”

Servia’s career ran the gamut in IndyCar of these teams: PPI, Sigma Autosport, PWR Championship Racing (the former PacWest), Patrick Racing, Dale Coyne Racing, Newman/Haas Racing (three stints), KV Racing Technology (three stints), Forsythe Racing, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing (two stints), Dreyer & Reinbold Racing and Panther Racing.

Of those 11 teams, only Coyne, KVRT and RLL still field full-time teams in IndyCar, with DRR likely set for another Indy-only appearance this season.

But the year Servia didn’t race in IndyCar, in 2010, he struck up a relationship with Michael Andretti and got a taste of the managerial side of affairs.

“Something I liked through my career in IndyCar is that I’ve been through a lot of good, and maybe not so good teams,” Servia said. “In 2010, when I wasn’t driving, Michael hired me as a consultant for a few races.

“It’s something I’ve always enjoyed. I’ve got along with Jay well for a few years. We saw a great opportunity for me to step up more on the technical and commercial side of the team.”

Will Servia’s managerial role prevent him from a possible Indianapolis 500 appearance? The answer, definitively, is no.

“We’ve had some good conversations… it’s looking good,” Servia told this writer with a smile, but without giving anything else away.

Servia’s two drivers this weekend are his aforementioned replacement, Duval, and Belgian ex-Formula 1 driver Jerome d’Ambrosio.

Dragon Racing enters the weekend fifth in the Team’s Championship, with 38 points.

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Ryan Hunter-Reay was named to replace Conor Daly in Ed Carpenter Racing’s No. 20 Dallara-Chevrolet, starting in the NTT IndyCar Series event next week at Road America.

Hunter-Reay is the 2012 series champion and 2014 Indianapolis 500 winner. He finished 11th for Dreyer & Reinbold last month in the 107th Indy 500, his first start since the 2021 season finale. He drove full time for Andretti Autosport from 2010-21.

“We need to improve our competitiveness and I wanted to add a fresh perspective from a driver like Ryan who has a massive amount of experience and success as well as a reputation as a team leader. I am excited to welcome Ryan to the team,” team owner Ed Carpenter said in a team release. “We have worked together in the past as teammates and he tested for ECR at Barber Motorsports Park in October 2021, where he made an immediate impact as we were able to qualify one of our cars on the pole following that test. I am confident that his experience and technical abilities will be an asset to ECR as we move forward toward our goals as a team.”

Hunter-Reay has 18 IndyCar victories, most recently in 2018. He also is a winner in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, having been a part of winning entries in the 2020 Twelve Hours of Sebring and 2018 Petit Le Mans. Last year, he was an endurance driver for Cadillac Racing while being on standby for Chip Ganassi Racing.

He replaces Daly, whose departure was announced a day earlier in what the driver and team said was a mutual decision.

“I was surprised when I got the call from Ed,” Hunter-Reay said in a team release. “He described how frustrated he was that his team has not been able to realize its potential despite their efforts, investments, as well as technical and personnel changes over the past few years and asked for my help. Ed and I are very close friends and have been for a long time. I’ve worked with the team in the past and they are a very talented group with high expectations and a committed partner in BITNILE.COM.

“This will certainly be a challenge for me as well. It’s a tough situation jumping in a car in the middle of the season without any testing in what I believe to be the most competitive series in the world. Certainly, part of my motivation in saying ‘yes’ to Ed is the great challenge ahead. The last time I turned right driving an NTT IndyCar Series car was in October of 2021 with this team at Barber. However, I remain very confident in both my driving and technical abilities and believe by working with the talented people at ECR and Team Chevy, while representing BITNILE.COM, we will make progress. I am going to do everything I can do to help the team achieve its long-term objectives.”

Said Milton “Todd” Ault, the chairman of sponsor BitNile.com: “It is great for BitNile.com to be aligned with an Indy 500 Winner and an NTT IndyCar Series champion. I have followed Ryan’s career for years and I am confident he will challenge the entire ECR team to perform at higher levels. I wish everyone luck at Road America.”