» IndyCars: Servia joins Dreyer & Reinbold

As we expected – as we reported last week – Dreyer & Reinbold Racing have confirmed Oriol Servià as the first of their two drivers for the upcoming IZOD IndyCar Series.

Coming off the back of a sensational fourth-placed finish in the Drivers Championship standings last year due to a series of incredibly consistent finishes for Newman Haas Racing, in which he scored five consecutive Top 10 finishes to start the season, Servià has been in high demand ever since his former team announced they would not be fielding a team to compete from 2012.

Servià also finished the season with a further five Top 10 finishes from the final six events, including podiums at Loudon and Baltimore.

The popular Spaniard is also one of the most experienced drivers on the grid, making his CART debut for PPI Motorsports in the 2000 season, the same year as fellow veteran Alex Tagliani. In his career to date, he has gained a reputation as being incredibly adaptable to new surroundings, having suited up for no less than eleven different teams; Dreyer & Reinbold will be his twelfth.

From a media release, Servià naturally spoke highly of his new team.

“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. 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 (team owners) Dennis [Reinbold] or Robbie [Buhl], which gave me a lot of confidence.”

Dreyer & Reinbold co-owner and former IndyCar driver Robbie Buhl said of his newest acquisition: “I think that Oriol can be a real asset to us and with the development with our partnership with Lotus and the DW12. His experience throughout his career will be pivotal in how we develop the new car. He had a fantastic season last year with Newman Haas and we are excited to have him as a part of our team going forward.”

The identity of Servià’s team-mate has not yet been announced.

[Article by Matt Lennon; image via Auto123]