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Nasr's new IMSA deal doesn't close IndyCar door
Felipe Nasr says his deal to remain in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship next season doesn't necessarily preclude him from racing in the NTT IndyCar Series.
Jamie Klein Charles Bradley
Edited: Sep 19, 2019, 6:55 PM
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The ex-Sauber Formula 1 racer signed a fresh contract to remain at the Action Express Racing IMSA team for a third season ahead of last weekend's Laguna Seca round.
He will once again be partnered by fellow countryman Pipo Derani in the Whelen Engineering-backed #31 Cadillac DPi-V.R, with the pair second in the standings this year with only the Petit Le Mans season finale to go.
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Nasr was linked to a potential IndyCar ride after testing for the Arrow Schmidt Peterson Motorsports team at Mid-Ohio in late July, and the 27-year-old says he is still exploring options in the open-wheel series - and that his new IMSA contract isn't a barrier to such a move.
"Everything is still open," Nasr told Motorsport.com. "The contract that I have with Action Express allows me to race whenever I want, as long as it doesn’t have any clashes with the race weekend here [in IMSA]. So I’m pretty happy with that."
There is one clash between the 2020 IndyCar and IMSA schedules (besides the Long Beach and Detroit rounds, where the two series share a bill), with the returning Richmond race taking place on the same late-June weekend as IMSA's six-hour Watkins Glen event.
"IndyCar has been on the radar for a while, I got my first test a month ago, I’m pretty sure the doors are open," Nasr added. "It’s just a matter of getting all the factors together and being able to run with a competitive team.
"Me as a driver, I like new challenges. I had my first test, we take it a step at a time. We’re still talking to some teams, and if anything comes up that is solid enough to make it happen, I’ll definitely look into it.
"I’ve done most of my career in single-seaters, it’s something I want to do in the future. Where I am now, it allows me to do that, if I can. I just need the right opportunity."
Le Mans on radar after Rebellion test
As well as IndyCar, Nasr says he has ambitions in competing in next year's Le Mans 24 Hours, having made his debut in the French classic in 2018 with the Villorba Corse LMP2 team.
The Brazilian tested Rebellion Racing's LMP1 car in the FIA World Endurance Championship pre-season Prologue test in July, but would not be able to race for the team until next April's Spa race at the earliest after it decided to scale back to a single car.
"It’s in my head as well to do Le Mans," Nasr admitted. "Whether that means LMP1 or LMP2, I don’t know at the moment.
"I want to race as much as I can, but I also want to have the package to win things. I don’t want to come into a championship to make up the numbers.
"Whatever I do in the future, it’s going to looking to be competitive. Le Mans is still something I want to do. It’s all open."
#1 Rebellion Racing Rebellion R-13: Nathanael Berthon, Felipe Nasr. Gustavo Menezes, Norman Nato
Photo by: FIA WEC
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