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IndyCar
INDYCAR: Lights Champ Vautier Looking At IndyCar Options
France’s Tristan Vautier won the Firestone Indy Lights title at his first try, and now hopes to make the leap to IndyCar in 2013.
Tristan Vautier raised his arms in victory throughout his run to the 2012 Firestone Indy Lights Championship. (Photo: LAT)
Of the many things that took place on the Mazda Road To Indy ladder this year, the most impressive storyline came from the string of rookie champions crowned in USF2000, Star Mazda and the Firestone Indy Lights Series.
With Matthew Brabham scoring the USF2000 title, Jack Hawksworth taking the Start Mazda championship and Tristan Vautier claiming Indy Lights honors during their first season in each respective category, there’s plenty of talent on the march towards the IZOD IndyCar Series.
For Brabham, a jump to Star Mazda is on the cards, and for Hawksworth, a similar move up to Indy Lights is expected, but for Vautier, the future is less certain.
One year after taking the Star Mazda championship, the 23-year-old Frenchman displayed an impressive level of maturity and talent with Sam Schmidt Motorsports, scoring four wins from 12 Lights rounds.
He also distinguished himself from a number of series veterans--the clear pre-season title favorites--as Vautier’s speed and consistency were too much to overcome.
But despite his achievements, Vautier faces the same reality that many recent Lights champions have encountered: the automatic ticket to IndyCar that an Indy Lights title once provided is a thing of the past.
2009 Lights champion JR Hildebrand spent most of 2010 on the sidelines, competing in the ALMS, and later, in two IndyCar races with Dreyer & Reinbold Racing with the help of personal sponsors. It took a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to replace Dan Wheldon at Panther Racing in 2011 for Hildebrand's career to get back on track.
Vautier’s countryman, 2010 Lights champ JK Vernay, set the stage by winning the title as a rookie, earning five wins from 13 rounds on the way to beating James Hinchcliffe, but with no offers in IndyCar, and without a significant budget to offer, he returned to Europe where he currently races sports cars.
Josef Newgarden, the 2011 FILS title winner for Sam Schmidt, has been the exception to the rule. He seized upon the brief window of opportunity that opened up at Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing last winter, but the young Tennessean’s tale is a rarity.
With the 2012 Lights champ, and in college sports terms, Vautier is the No. 1 draft pick, but his phone isn’t ringing, offers aren’t pouring in and he’s now searching for the money to stay in the game.
Vautier has IndyCar’s Mazda Road To Indy advancement award to use as he shops for rides ($500,000 for teams with a Leader Circle contract; $1 million for the few that don’t), and a few sponsors of his own to contribute towards the $3-5 million needed to crack the door open, but as he told SPEED.com, his off-season will have nothing to do with driving Indy cars--it's all about finding the finances needed to graduate.
“I think I have good people around me to help,” he said. “But, for sure, the teams need a big amount of money. I think top teams are over five million. Yeah, you can run with three or four [million] sometimes but then it's a matter of finding the budget between the team and you. Some teams might have sponsors and budgets and might be able to just pick the driver they want and you hope to be that one.
“If there’s none of these rides then you have to bring the money. That's a tough one, especially with an economy that's a little tough. But I know that the series is picking up and has been getting better and better in the last years. So I think IndyCar has a good future. And I'm really hopeful that I can find rides, one way or another.”
Winning the Lights title at Fontana was a joyful event for Vautier, but those celebrations were intentionally kept short. With a greater need to be a businessman and salesman than a driver over the coming months, he’s hopes to find an IndyCar budget as quickly as possible so he can begin testing.
“Of course you're always thinking about your future,” he said. “So it's for sure in my mind I can afford to celebrate and really enjoy the feeling of winning a championship, but mostly I'm thinking about next year. I have the luck to get the scholarship with this title to take to the IZOD IndyCar series. I know it’s still going to be a tough step to make, even with the scholarship, but I hope I can find a ride and keep driving.”
Although the economics involved with becoming an IndyCar driver serve as Vautier’s most pressing concern, he’s hoping the fact that he can pedal a racing car won’t be forgotten.
With Matthew Brabham scoring the USF2000 title, Jack Hawksworth taking the Start Mazda championship and Tristan Vautier claiming Indy Lights honors during their first season in each respective category, there’s plenty of talent on the march towards the IZOD IndyCar Series.
For Brabham, a jump to Star Mazda is on the cards, and for Hawksworth, a similar move up to Indy Lights is expected, but for Vautier, the future is less certain.
One year after taking the Star Mazda championship, the 23-year-old Frenchman displayed an impressive level of maturity and talent with Sam Schmidt Motorsports, scoring four wins from 12 Lights rounds.
He also distinguished himself from a number of series veterans--the clear pre-season title favorites--as Vautier’s speed and consistency were too much to overcome.
But despite his achievements, Vautier faces the same reality that many recent Lights champions have encountered: the automatic ticket to IndyCar that an Indy Lights title once provided is a thing of the past.
2009 Lights champion JR Hildebrand spent most of 2010 on the sidelines, competing in the ALMS, and later, in two IndyCar races with Dreyer & Reinbold Racing with the help of personal sponsors. It took a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to replace Dan Wheldon at Panther Racing in 2011 for Hildebrand's career to get back on track.
Vautier’s countryman, 2010 Lights champ JK Vernay, set the stage by winning the title as a rookie, earning five wins from 13 rounds on the way to beating James Hinchcliffe, but with no offers in IndyCar, and without a significant budget to offer, he returned to Europe where he currently races sports cars.
Josef Newgarden, the 2011 FILS title winner for Sam Schmidt, has been the exception to the rule. He seized upon the brief window of opportunity that opened up at Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing last winter, but the young Tennessean’s tale is a rarity.
With the 2012 Lights champ, and in college sports terms, Vautier is the No. 1 draft pick, but his phone isn’t ringing, offers aren’t pouring in and he’s now searching for the money to stay in the game.
Vautier has IndyCar’s Mazda Road To Indy advancement award to use as he shops for rides ($500,000 for teams with a Leader Circle contract; $1 million for the few that don’t), and a few sponsors of his own to contribute towards the $3-5 million needed to crack the door open, but as he told SPEED.com, his off-season will have nothing to do with driving Indy cars--it's all about finding the finances needed to graduate.
“I think I have good people around me to help,” he said. “But, for sure, the teams need a big amount of money. I think top teams are over five million. Yeah, you can run with three or four [million] sometimes but then it's a matter of finding the budget between the team and you. Some teams might have sponsors and budgets and might be able to just pick the driver they want and you hope to be that one.
“If there’s none of these rides then you have to bring the money. That's a tough one, especially with an economy that's a little tough. But I know that the series is picking up and has been getting better and better in the last years. So I think IndyCar has a good future. And I'm really hopeful that I can find rides, one way or another.”
Winning the Lights title at Fontana was a joyful event for Vautier, but those celebrations were intentionally kept short. With a greater need to be a businessman and salesman than a driver over the coming months, he’s hopes to find an IndyCar budget as quickly as possible so he can begin testing.
“Of course you're always thinking about your future,” he said. “So it's for sure in my mind I can afford to celebrate and really enjoy the feeling of winning a championship, but mostly I'm thinking about next year. I have the luck to get the scholarship with this title to take to the IZOD IndyCar series. I know it’s still going to be a tough step to make, even with the scholarship, but I hope I can find a ride and keep driving.”
Although the economics involved with becoming an IndyCar driver serve as Vautier’s most pressing concern, he’s hoping the fact that he can pedal a racing car won’t be forgotten.
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