Tristan Vautier will return to Dale Coyne Racing as an injury replacement for Sebastien Bourdais at this weekend’s IndyCar race in Texas.
Vautier will be the fourth man in three events to take to the wheel of the #18 entry after his French compatriot suffered multiple fractures to his pelvis and a broken right hip in a crash during qualifying for the Indianapolis 500.
Australian James Davison drove a spare car for the team at the Brickyard before Esteban Gutierrez took over at last weekend’s Detroit Grand Prix double-header.
However, Gutierrez’ lack of oval circuit experience and inability to test beforehand means that the Mexican is not allowed to race on Texas Motor Speedway.
Testing is not allowed “Within seven (7) calendar Days of the start of any on Track activity at any Race Event,” under IndyCar regulations, with the Indianapolis 500, Detroit Grand Prix, and Texas 600 falling on consecutive weekends.
As such, Vautier, who has made 11 of his 30 IndyCar Series starts at DCR, has received the call-up for the eighth event of the season.
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“We chose Tristan to fill the #18 seat at Texas because of his previous experience at Texas Motor Speedway,” said team owner Dale Coyne.
“We think he can help the team and Ed (Jones, team-mate and the only full-time rookie in 2017), who has never raced or even tested there.
“Tristan has remained close with the team and he’s always done a good job for us. I expect much of the same going into this race weekend.”
Vautier drove a part-IndyCar campaign for DCR in 2015, filling in for Carlos Huertas at the Indianapolis 500 due to the Colombian contracting an inner ear infection, and ultimately seeing out the season with the team.
He is currently dividing his time between the IMSA WeatherTeach SportsCar Championship, in which he shares the SunEnergy1 Mercedes-AMG with expatriate Australian Kenny Habul, and the Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup.
While there is no official word on the driver of car #18 at following events, a tweet from the official Dale Coyne Racing account suggests that Gutierrez is in the frame to reprise his substitute role.
“(It’s) not out of the question that he will do other races, (he) just can’t do Texas,” read the tweet regarding Gutierrez, who finished 19th and 14th in the two races in Detroit.
The 25-year-old had been racing in Formula E for the Techeetah team, which would have caused three clashes with IndyCar (including Texas), but has been replaced by Stephan Sarrazin for the remainder of the season.
Action at Texas begins with practice and qualifying on Friday June 9 (local time).
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