Last fall we reported that Dennis Hauger, a 21-year-old driver from Oslo, signed a contract with Andretti Global and will compete in the American junior series Indy NXT in 2025.
His debut weekend overseas was more than successful: Dennis won the pole, led from start to finish and brought the race on the city track in St. Petersburg to victory. At the same time, he recorded the fastest lap on the way to the finish.
Before him, another representative of Scandinavian motorsport distinguished himself in a similar way four years ago: in 2021, Swede Linus Lundqvist also won the very first race in this championship, which was then called Indy Lights.
Hauger became Formula 3 champion that year, after which he spent three seasons in F2, and now he immediately distinguished himself in a new series for him at the wheel of a car to which he had not yet had time to fully adapt, and on a track that he had only become familiar with this weekend.
“It was fun!” Dennis commented after his winning finish. “It was my first time on this track, but we found a good rhythm and the car worked well. The team did an incredible job this weekend in all its tasks, so I’m really pleased. Such a good start to the season will definitely give us confidence!”
The victory in St. Petersburg was a worthy gift that Hauger gave himself for his 22nd birthday: the Norwegian racer will celebrate his birthday on March 16.
Another Andretti Global debutant also showed good results – Australian Lockie Hughes took 2nd place, and they were joined on the podium by Brazilian Chao Collet, a former participant in the Alpine youth program, whom we also remember from Formula 3.
Also representing European motorsport in Indy NXT this season is German driver Sophia Floersch, who finished 12th out of 21 competitors in the race yesterday.
The next round of the series is scheduled for May 4 at Barber Motorsports Park in Alabama.
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