Heamin Choi and James French to Test with SPM at Chris Griffis Memorial Test

Heamin Choi

Seven-time Indy Lights championship-winning team Schmidt Peterson Motorsports (SPM) announced today that Heamin Choi will return to the cockpit and newcomer James French will make his SPM debut for the upcoming Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires Chris Griffis Memorial Test at Circuit of the Americas.

Thirty-one-year-old Choi, who competed for SPM at the Lights season finale in Laguna Seca, is recognized as the first Korean to have raced in the Mazda Road to Indy Series (Pro Mazda, USF2000). In addition, he is the first Korean driver to have participated in any race held in the U.S.

Choi's other achievements include the 2005 BAT Championship (Formula Korea), 2006 Korea GT championship (GT1), and 2013 Super Race GT driver's title. He was also the Samsung Everland scholarship driver from 2003 to 2005.

"I'm very excited about the upcoming test," said Choi. "I competed in Indy Lights for the first time with SPM at Laguna Seca. I think it went pretty well, considering I have been focusing on touring cars for the last two years, so I'm in the process of adapting to open wheel cars again. My goal with the test is to get used to the car and gain more experience.

"The COTA track is similar to the Korea International Circuit, with a flat surface and wide run-off areas. It's a good track for me to push the limit with less risk."

James French

French, a native of Sheboygan, Wisconsin, is an Indiana Motorsports Engineering student at IUPUI. The 23-year-old driver earned three pole positions and five podium finishes in the Tudor United Sports Car Championship Series. In 2014, he finished second at Virginia International Raceway. He previously ran a partial schedule in the PC class in the American Le Mans Series from 2011-13.

"I'm very grateful and excited for the opportunity to test with SPM this weekend," said French. "Although there will be a lot to learn very quickly, I'm confident in the car and the SPM team. I'm thankful that Sam [Schmidt] and Ric [Peterson] have put their faith in me to succeed, so I will do my best."

"It will be great returning to COTA for the test. It is one of the finest facilities in the country, and an absolute blast to drive. Fortunately I have been able to drive there twice this season, so it should make transitioning to the Lights car a bit easier with less to learn all at once. This will be my first time in a MRTI car, so of course I have to keep my expectations and goals reasonable. The goal is always to be at the top of the time sheets, but my main focus will be about finding confidence in the car and being able to consistently creep towards the limit without any mistakes."

The Chris Griffis Memorial Test will take place on November 21 and 22 at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, TX. Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires will make its series debut on the unidirectional, grade one FIA specification 3.427-mile track.