Over the past few seasons, we have watched Montreal’s Zachary Claman DeMelo quickly progress up the Motorsports ladder, but also stay close to his roots and compete in karts. Now he will take the next step and make his professional racing debut next weekend in Verizon Indycar Series at Sonoma Raceway in California, USA.
DeMelo competed in a pair of ECKC races this year with Prime Powerteam and is qualified to race with Team Canada at the upcoming Rotax Max Challenge Grand Finals in Portugal. He also competed full time in Indy Lights, finishing fifth overall and taking one win at Road America.
He will make his IndyCar debut with Rahal Letterman Lannigan Racing (RLLR) and will be teammates with Graham Rahal.
Claman DeMelo first drove an IndyCar last fall in a test with Schmidt-Peterson Racing and joined the team again this summer for a test in fellow Canadian James Hinchcliffe’s car. The race with RLLR shows DeMelo’s interest in going full time in 2018.
Upon confirming the news, Claman DeMelo said the following to Motorsport.com, “I want to extend a big thank you to my primary partner, Paysafe, for making a dream come true today and to Bobby Rahal for the incredible level of support he has provided towards getting me in the #16 Honda this season. It is an honor to drive for RLLR and I look forward to big things ahead.”
The IndyCar Grand Prix of Sonoma will take place on September 13-15.
