Palou joins Dale Coyne Racing for 2020 IndyCar season

Alex Palou has signed with Dale Coyne Racing for the 2020 NTT IndyCar Series season, moving across from Super Formula.

Palou, 22, finished third in the championship in his rookie Super Formula season, scoring one race win and remaining in contention for the drivers’ title until the final round.

The Spaniard tested an Indy car for the first time with Dale Coyne Racing back in July at Mid-Ohio, and has now been named in its full-season line-up for 2020.

“I’m very excited about coming to America to race Indy cars,” said Palou. “I’m grateful for all that have helped me get to this point of my career and especially Dale Coyne and Mr. Kazumichi Goh for giving me this opportunity.”

The entry includes backing from Team Goh, for whom Palou raced in Super GT through 2019 alongside his Super Formula programme.

“We’re very pleased to partner with our friend of many years Kazumichi Goh in this collaborative effort for 2020,” said Dale Coyne. “We tested Alex at Mid-Ohio earlier this year and he impressed everyone. His rise in performance over the past three years shows great promise for the future.”

Added Goh: “Alex shows great promise and we all are excited to continue our relationship with Alex and to see him progress his career towards the IndyCar series. It will be an honour to be part of the Indianapolis 500, the Greatest Spectacle in Racing, and we hope to have the same success we achieved at the Le Mans 24 hour race with our overall win thanks to great team collaboration between Alex and Dale Coyne Racing.”

Palou is the first driver confirmed at Dale Coyne Racing for 2020. The team ran Santino Ferrucci and Sebastien Bourdais in full-season programmes last season, but Bourdais has already confirmed his exit.

In October, Palou was also named as an associated driver in the Campos-linked Formula 1 project that is in the works for 2021.