TJSpeed Motorsports driver Kyffin Simpson led the Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires field as the chequered flag fell on the final open test session at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, closing out an impressive official series debut as a clear championship contender.
A staple of the Indy Lights calendar, the October 30-31 pre-season Chris Griffis Memorial Test offers the first glimpse of the coming season’s drivers and competitive order. Kyffin’s time of 1:25.4850s was 0.05s clear of second-placed Matteo Nannini in the sixth and final 45-minute session of the weekend, just shy of Benjamin Pederson’s benchmark set on day one amongst the 14-car field.
NTT INDYCAR SERIES veteran and TJSpeed owner Tim Neff focused on perfecting his understanding the IL-15’s characteristics as Kyffin provided valuable feedback on tire behaviour across the two days. The blue and white #21 car completed 125 laps of the Indianapolis Road Course layout with no mechanical issues reported.
Reflecting on a productive test, Kyffin said:
“I had a lot of fun at Indy; it’s always great to drive there and catch up with the other drivers. Since we got the car a few months ago we’ve just been focusing on ourselves, building mileage and gathering data, so this was the first opportunity to benchmark against our competitors.”
“Tim, Matt and the team did a great job. The car felt awesome, and I think the results of the last session show we’re on the right track. I’m learning new things about the car every lap so there’s a lot more time to come.”
“I hope we can carry this momentum into the FR Americas final round at COTA next weekend.”
TJ Speed owner Tim Neff added:
“Kyffin drove well this weekend, and even with some new faces in the team we found performance in the #21 car, building on the knowledge we’ve built throughout testing.
I think everyone in the team can be proud of what we’ve achieved so far, just getting to Indianapolis as a new Indy Lights entrant with two race-ready cars. To be running at the front from day one is encouraging.”
“I’m looking forward to our next team test at Barber. We’re aiming to get #12 car out alongside Kyffin to complete our line-up.”
Busier than ever, Kyffin now travels to Sebring, Florida to take part in the final HPD GT3 Academy track day with Racers Edge Motorsports, November 2-3, immediately followed by a trip to Circuit of the Americas for the final FR Americas championship rounds, November 4-7.
To secure the 2021 FR Americas Powered by Honda title at COTA, Kyffin must score 11 points across the final three races. You can follow and support Kyffin’s progress on social media via Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
Kyffin is supported by Simpson Race Products, GoPro action cameras, Spy sunglasses, DART, BODDENS, Kimpton Seafire Resort + Spa, and Kokoro Performance driver coaching services.
