Newman/Haas To Test Servia, Hinchcliffe

Indianapolis, Dec. 2, 2010: Firestone Indy Lights championship runner-up James Hinchcliffe and Indy car veteran driver Oriol Servia will test with Newman/Haas Racing on Dec. 13-14 at Sebring International Raceway.

Servia, a native of Catalonia, Spain, has made 15 starts for NHR in CART/Champ Car and the IZOD IndyCar Series (one victory, seven top-three, 11 top-five and 13 top-10 finishes). In 2005, Servia replaced NHR driver Bruno Junqueira, who suffered a season-ending injury at the Indy 500 on May 29, and then went on to finish second to teammate Sebastien Bourdais in the Champ Car standings. Servia returned to NHR in 2009 for four races with a season-best finish of fourth at Twin Ring Motegi.

"I am obviously very excited, not only to be back in a race car but to be back in a Newman/Haas car," Servia said. "Every time I have driven a Newman/Haas car we have been able to make improvements and deliver results. They have some of the best engineers and the team members are among the hardest working in the sport. It's the situation every driver wants; to just focus on making improvements with the car."

Hinchcliffe, 23, of Toronto, will test an IndyCar for the first time with NHR. He posted 2010 victories in Firestone Indy Lights at Long Beach, Edmonton and Chicagoland and poles at St. Petersburg, Long Beach, Watkins Glen and Edmonton. In total, he earned eight podium finishes in 13 races. Hinchcliffe progressed through the ranks of the Rotax (2002), F2000 (2003), Formula BMW (2004), Star Mazda (2005) and Atlantic series (2006-08) before joining Firestone Indy Lights in 2009. He also competed in a season of A1GP competition (2007).

"I can't express how excited I am to get my first test in an IndyCar," he said. "I grew up watching Indy cars and always dreamed of one day driving one so this really is a dream come true. And to get my first taste of this car with a team the caliber of Newman/Haas Racing is really special. Their record speaks for itself and to get to work with them is a real privilege. It will certainly help me tackle the job of getting up to speed.

"For sure this test is just the first step for me toward racing full time in the IZOD IndyCar Series. I will simply try to learn as much as I can and do the best job possible for the team."

The 2011 IZOD IndyCar Series season opens March 25-27 with the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. Newman/Haas Racing earned its first IZOD IndyCar Series victory in 2008 with Graham Rahal behind the wheel.

"This test will give us a great start to prepare for 2011," said Brian Lisles, general manager of Newman/Haas Racing. "And we look forward to introducing James to the IZOD IndyCar Series, and renewing our long and successful relationship with Oriol."