Preparations continue ahead of PREMA's IndyCar debut
11/12/2024 08:42 AM
PREMA Racing continues to ramp up its efforts that will bring the NTT IndyCar Series' newest team to the grid in 2025.
The Italian squad owned and run by Rene Rosin and his partner Angelina Ertsou is embarking upon its most ambitious racing program after decades of competing at all levels of European open-wheel racing and is actively preparing to turn its first laps in testing.
"The team is progressing," Ertsou told RACER. "The assembly is going really, really well. We’re very happy about that, so that’s very positive. The shop is being finalized, and we should be moving in very, very soon now, but we have a provisional space that we are using currently and we’ve obviously already started working on assembling cars and everything, because, as you know, It’s not something you do overnight.
"That’s been great in terms of staff recruitment. Everything is on schedule. We’re pretty much complete. Maybe a couple of positions left to fill. Pretty much done there. It's around 40 people.
"It will be more going forward. But we just wanted to secure what we think is a good amount of people to have the two cars operating properly. And then as we move forward, maybe we can increase slightly, but I think we’re looking at a total of 50 around the Indy 500.
"We would have obviously liked to be in the in the shop a bit earlier, but you know how it is with construction; you have to be patient. And we’d rather do it properly than just rush in. W want to build it out the way we planned it from the beginning, so that’s going great."
With its drivers revealed, PREMA has young IndyCar veteran and team veteran Callum Ilott in position to lead and mentor fellow PREMA product Robert Schwarzman, and a lot of work in motion to get both drivers and their new Chevrolet-powered cars out and in motion. With everything else going on in the background, the shakedown date and place is a moving target that could fall after the new year arrives.
"We don’t have a specific date yet, but yeah, it will depend on, obviously, suppliers, engines, and everything, so it’s not something that we decide on our own, but I don’t think it’s going to be in the next month," she said.
"I think it’s going to be a bit later, but let’s see. We’re going to try our best to do it as early as possible. But obviously, we also don’t want to go out just for the sake of going out. We want to go out when it makes sense. As you know, these test days are limited, so we don’t want to use them in an improper way."
Ertsou credited IndyCar president Jay Frye, who's been in regular contact with the team to offer insights and support as it navigates its series debut in 2025.
"The series has been extremely helpful, I have to say," she added. "And it’s a very open discussion. Every time we have any questions or anything there, they’ve honestly been very supportive. We’re really, really happy to start this new adventure. It’s been great so far, and I have no doubt that it’s going to be super next year."
