Alex Peroni, a 21-year-old from Hobart, Tasmania, Australia will be joining Carlin to take on the 2021 Indy Lights season. (Photo Courtesy Alex Peroni)

By Steve Wittich

Carlin and Alex Peroni have an early Christmas present for Indy Lights fans. The former championship-winning team is returning to the top rung of the Road To Indy with Aussie Alex Peroni.

“I’m seriously pumped to be joining the 2021 Indy Lights field and to be doing it with a team such as Carlin who I know have been successful in the series before and of course I know well from Europe,” said Peroni. “I’m so thankful to Blundstone and the state of Tasmania for their continued support and for allowing me to follow my dream.

“No doubt there will be a lot to learn in terms of both the car and the different circuits, but I am absolutely ready for the challenge and know I will have a great team behind me to bring me up to speed.”

The 21-year-old from Hobart, Tasmania, Australia pilot has spent the past two seasons in the FIA Formula 3 Championship, standing on three podiums and collecting ten top-ten finishes. Peroni took part in the Formula Renault Eurocup Championship in 2017 and 2018, winning twice and grabbing two poles.

Before his two seasons of Formula Renault Eurocup, a 16-year-old Peroni won 14 times on the way to a dominant championship in the 2016 V de V Challenge Monoplace (French Formula Renault)

In his last five seasons of European open-wheel action, Peroni has eight to one record against his teammates.

With at least six street course races on the 2021 Indy Lights calendar, Peroni’s past success on concrete-lined circuits should come in handy. At the tricky Circuit Pau, Peroni has one win, one pole, and two top-fives. At the iconic Circuit de Monaco, he has a win, a pole, and visits to the podium.

Carlin will be working in concert with Indy Lights champion Jay Howard, and the effort will serve as the top rung of Jay Howard Driver Development.

In three seasons of Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires action (2015, 2016, and 2017), Carlin drivers won one championship, Ed Jones in 2016, and finished in the top five of the championship on five occasions. The Delray Beach, Fla. visited victory lane a dozen times in three seasons. The team’s accolades also include 17 poles and 36 podiums.

Speaking about the team’s newest signing, Trevor Carlin said, “We’re really excited to be back in Indy Lights having been so successful in the series in the past. It’s a fantastic series to prepare drivers for the NTT INDYCAR SERIES and it was always our aim to return to the junior formula once we had become more settled in INDYCAR.

“We’re very proud that Alex and his sponsors have chosen Carlin as the team to take his first steps into US racing. We know having raced against him in the immensely competitive FIA Formula 3 Championship what he is capable of and I can’t wait to see his potential evolve in the Indy Lights field.”

Ed Jones and the Carlin crew celebrate winning the 2016 Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires championship. (Photo Courtesy Of Andersen Promotions)

Peroni joins Devlin DeFrancesco (Andretti Steinbrenner Racing), Danial Frost (Andretti Autosport), Kyle Kirkwood (Andretti Autosport), David Malukas (HMD Motorsports), and Benjamin Pedersen (Global Racing Group with HMD Motorsports) as drivers confirmed for the 2021 Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires season.

Indy Lights drivers and teams are currently taking part in private testing, with the first official test of the season taking place February 24, 2021, at the Homestead-Miami Speedway. The first race weekend of the season kicks off on March 5, 2021, in St. Petersburg, Fla.

 

You can help defray Peroni’s expenses while racing in Indy Lights here –> Alex To Indy Lights