Katherine Legge to return to Indy 500 with Rahal team

(AP) — Katherine Legge will attempt to qualify for her third Indianapolis 500 this year — her first IndyCar race since 2013 — in a car fielded by Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing.

Legge will enter the race in the No. 44 Honda with sponsorship from Hendrickson, a global manufacturer and supplier of suspension systems.

She is one of only nine women to compete in the Indy 500; she finished 22nd in 2012 and 26th in 2013.

“I am thrilled to be back at Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing for the biggest race in the world, the Indy 500,” Legge said. “Bobby gave me my first chance to win races for the team in the Jaguar I-PACE series a few years ago and it feels like a homecoming of sorts to be back with the team.

“Racing at Indy with an Indy 500-winning team and with Honda is an amazing opportunity, and one I am very grateful for and intend to make the most of.”

Legge will be teammates with Graham Rahal, Christian Lundgaard and Jack Harvey. RLL won the Indy 500 in 2020 with Takuma Sato.

She has 11 career IndyCar starts and the British racer has been competing in the IMSA GTD class in an Acura NSX GT3. She scored a win, a pole and three podiums with RLL in the Jaguar I-PACE eTROPHY series in the 2018-19 ABB FIA Formula E season.

Legge competed in the Champ Car World Series fulltime in 2006 and 2007.

“I’ve been a fan of Katherine’s for many years and know that, in the right situation, she can be competitive and figure into the outcome at the end of the race,” Bobby Rahal said. “She has driven for us before in the Jaguar electric program and won from pole in Mexico City and finished on the podium several times, so it is nice to have her back with us to work together at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the first time.

“I know she looks at this as a chance to show everybody what she really can do.”