Dale Coyne Racing has signed Formula 2 veteran and current European Le Mans Series driver Luca Ghiotto to drive its No. 51 entry for the upcoming rounds at Barber Motorsports Park and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course.

Italian driver Ghiotto has seven career wins in F2, the final ladder series before Formula One. After five full seasons in the FIA Formula 2 Championship where he finished as high as third in the standings, he moved to sports car racing, where he’s competed since 2020. He’s recently served as test and simulator driver for the Nissan Formula E team in 2022-23.

Ghiotto, 29, will race for DCR with Rick Ware Racing in the Children’s of Alabama Indy Grand Prix powered by AmFirst on Sunday, April 28 at Barber and the Sonsio Grand Prix on Saturday, May 11 on the IMS road course.

“I’m very excited to be making my NTT INDYCAR SERIES debut this weekend at Barber Motorsports Park,” Ghiotto said. “I’ve spent the majority of my career overseas but was always intrigued and wanting to try INDYCAR. It will be my first time driving this car and my first time at this track, so there’s a steep learning curve and challenge ahead of me, but I am very much looking forward to it.”

Ghiotto, who has substantial experience in open-wheel cars, was also a test and reserve driver for the Williams Formula One team in 2017.

“We know it won’t be an easy first race for Luca jumping in the car like this with no testing whatsoever,” team owner Dale Coyne said. “That said, he has plenty of experience in different types of race cars and has proven himself over the years. We look forward to seeing what he can do in the next two races and know that he will bring experience and knowledge to the team.”

Ghiotto will team with Jack Harvey, who will drive DCR’s No. 18 entry at Barber and the Sonsio Grand Prix.