Oriol Servia will join the Dreyer & Reinbold racing team full-time for the 2012 Izod IndyCar Series season.
Servia, a native of Catalonia, Spain, is coming off of an impressive 2011 season in which he qualified third for the Indianapolis 500, recorded 11 top-10 finishes, was one of three drivers to be running at the finish in all 17 races, led all drivers in laps completed (2,103 of 2,011) and was the only driver to finish in the top 10 in the first five races of the season.
Servia finished fourth in the overall series championship.
“With a new engine, new chassis and a revamped engineering department, we believe it is crucial to have a highly talented veteran driver to be able to develop these new components,” said Dennis Reinbold, the team’s co-owner. “Oriol has always been a smart driver and has always put himself and his team in a position to win races. We are going to have to be well prepared to take advantage of his abilities, and we look forward to the challenge.”
Servia’s success in open-wheel racing includes a runner-up finish in the 2005 Champ Car World Series points standings and winning the 1999 Indy Lights championship, where he finished second in five races and earned three pole positions. Servia also gave Dale Coyne Racing its first podium finish since 1996 with a third-place run at Laguna Seca in 2004.
“I couldn’t be more excited, for many reasons. DRR is a team that I raced against since 2008 and they’ve always shown to be very professional at the racetrack,” Servia said. “Although I knew the owners, I didn’t know them very well, to be honest. Before signing with the team, like everybody else, I did my research, and I couldn’t find one individual that didn’t speak highly of Dennis or Robbie [Buhl], which gave me a lot of confidence.
“I went to the team’s sponsor summit last week and met all of their partners that they have been involved with for many, many years, which was another clear sign that they are good people.”
Servia raced in 2011 for Newman/Haas Racing, which closed up shop in December.
The Spaniard said he is eager to begin preseason testing and debut the new DW12 at the first event in St. Petersburg, Fla.
“I started on the front row for the Indianapolis 500 and I want to improve on that,” Servia said. “I’m at the best point in my career and it was very important to partner with the right team. When I visited the DRR facility in Indianapolis, I couldn’t have been more impressed. We are starting with a new engine and chassis, and I have confidence in Lotus and our ability to develop a quality product in 2012. When you have everyone pulling in the same direction like we are now is when we can accomplish our goals.”
Dreyer & Reinbold Racing continues to work toward a second full-time entry for the 2012 season.