The strongest hint yet that Adam Christodoulou could soon be racing once more in a single-seater has been dropped by a team owner in a position to make that dream a reality.
Christodoulou, who hails from Lichfield and who is currently racing in the GT class of the tintop Grand-Am Rolex Series, was in action at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course last week on the day before his 21st birthday.
He was there to cash in part of his prize for winning the open-wheel 2009 Star Mazda Championship – a test in Andersen Racing’s Firestone Indy Lights car.
Christodoulou completed 89 laps on Mid-Ohio’s 2.3-mile road course in the #4 Firestone Indy Lights car normally driven by Carmen Jorda.
Team co-owner John Andersen said: “I was very pleased with Adam’s test. He showed that with a little bit of seat time he was able to run with the best Firestone Indy Lights drivers.”
His brother and co-owner Dan added: “We were the first team in North America to test Adam in a Star Mazda car back in early 2009, and we knew then what a talent he is.
“It was a real delight to be able to provide our Firestone Indy Lights team and race car and see him perform so well once again. We would welcome an opportunity to have him on our Firestone Indy Lights team sometime in the future.”
That is good news for Christodoulou who was scheduled to race in the Atlantic Championship as part of his Star Mazda prize – only to see the entire series fall through. Instead he partnered Atlantic champion and fellow Star Mazda graduate John Edwards in a Mazda RX-8 in Grand-Am in what has been a promising season so far for the pair.
But he was happy to return to his single-seater roots, saying: “The test definitely put a huge smile on my face… it was a pleasure to be back in a single-seater.
“At first it was quite strange, as I hadn’t been in a single-seater for at least eight months, and I had only been in a Firestone Indy Lights car once last year. The first thing I noticed was how quiet it seemed compared to the scream of the three-rotor Mazda RX-8 I have been racing all season.
“I was also braking far too early for all the corners. The brakes felt unbelievably good, and I was over-slowing the car and wasn’t getting the best out the brakes until my second or third run. Then I was carrying a lot more speed and was a lot more efficient on the brakes.”
He said that he clicked well with the crew and enjoyed a smooth and problem-free run.
“I had plenty of time in the car even though we were restricted on miles. I completed roughly 80 laps, with my third-from-last lap being my quickest all day, even with worn tyres.
“We made some very minor changes but I think the biggest time difference was just me adjusting to the car. I felt that each time I got in the car I picked up fractions of a second here and there.
“It would have been nice to have put on a new set of tyres at the end of the day just to see how I compared to the other seasoned Firestone Indy Lights drivers, but overall it was a fun day and it was nice to be able to test against the 2010 Firestone Indy Lights drivers.”
He has thanked everyone involved in putting the test together, including Performance Friction brakes, MAZDASPEED Development and Andersen Racing.
He concluded: “I look forward to hopping into a Firestone Indy Lights car again if the opportunity arises.” As seems almost certain to happen if the necessary funding can be secured.