Carlin team returns to Indy Lights for 2021

Carlin not only won the 2016 Indy Lights championship with Ed Jones, it managed to amass 12 wins across its three seasons. However, when the team graduated to IndyCar for 2018, team principal Trevor Carlin pulled out of the junior formula.

Now the team intends to compete in both IndyCar and Indy Lights, with the Lights arm of the squad also serving as the top rung of Jay Howard’s Driver Development (JHDD).

The team announced Sunday that it has completed its first signing, 21-year-old Australia-born Alex Peroni, who comes to the US having raced in the FIA Formula 3 Championship in the 2019 and 2020 seasons. Last year he claimed three podium finishes and two fastest laps to take 10th in the standings in the 30-car field.

“I’m seriously pumped to be joining the 2021 Indy Lights field and to be doing it with a team such as Carlin who I know have been successful in the series before and of course I know well from Europe,” said Peroni. “I’m so thankful to Blundstone and the state of Tasmania for their continued support and for allowing me to follow my dream.

“No doubt there will be a lot to learn in terms of both the car and the different circuits, but I am absolutely ready for the challenge and know I will have a great team behind me to bring me up to speed.”

Carlin commented: “We’re really excited to be back in Indy Lights having been so successful in the series in the past. It’s a fantastic series to prepare drivers for the NTT IndyCar Series and it was always our aim to return to the junior formula once we had become more settled in IndyCar.

“We’re very proud that Alex and his sponsors have chosen Carlin as the team to take his first steps into US racing. We know having raced against him in the immensely competitive FIA Formula 3 Championship what he is capable of and I can’t wait to see his potential evolve in the Indy Lights field.”