Bryce Aron Racing
2023
The rebranded Andretti Global team has announced the arrival of Bryce Aron for the 2024 season in Indy NXT.
Bryce Aron to Make INDY NXT Debut in 2024 With Andretti Global
INDIANAPOLIS (October 11, 2023) – Andretti Global announced today that Bryce Aron will join the team’s 2024 INDY NXT by Firestone driver lineup piloting the No. 27 Andretti Dallara. The American rookie is the second confirmed Andretti INDY NXT driver for the 2024 season, joining already announced teammate James Roe.
The 20-year-old Illinois native began his car racing career in the F1600 Championship Series in 2019, finishing third in the Championship standings as a rookie. The following year saw Aron receive the coveted 2020 Team USA Scholarship and become the first American in British motorsports history to place in the top five at the Walter Hayes Trophy (third) and Formula Ford Festival (fifth). Aron went on to compete in the 2021 and 2022 BRDC British F3 Championship (GB3) seasons, collecting 12 top-10 finishes in his first
year and scoring a win, three podiums and eight top-10 finishes to help secure the overall 2022 British F3 Team Championship.
Most recently, Aron competed in the 2023 Euroformula Open F3 Championship scoring three wins, five podiums and a pole position, placing him in fourth place in the Driver’s Championship standings. The sole American in the field will forgo the final round of the season to make his INDY NXT debut October 20 on the road course at Indianapolis Motor Speedway at the annual Chris Griffis Memorial Test.
J-F THORMANN, PRESIDENT, ANDRETTI GLOBAL
“We take a great deal of pride in the up-and-coming drivers we bring into our INDY NXT program and the addition of Bryce is no exception. He’s proven that he knows how to win races during his time in Europe, so we’re eager to see what he will do with an opportunity to compete in INDY NXT. We have high hopes for Bryce in his rookie year, and we’re thrilled to have him join the team for the upcoming season.”
BRYCE ARON, DRIVER, ANDRETTI INDY NXT
“To say I’m excited to be joining Andretti Global is a vast understatement. It’s really a dream come true, and I’m honored to be a part of this amazing team. I’ve grown up watching the Andretti team win in Indianapolis, so it means everything to me to be able to learn from this talented group. I’m happy to be returning to the U.S. to take this giant step towards my end goal of competing in INDYCAR. I can’t wait to get started with the team and I believe we can achieve a lot together in 2024.”
Aron Claims Another Dominant Win and Two Trips to the Podium at Paul Ricard
Bryce Aron claimed his third win in as many rounds of the 2023 EuroFormula Open series at Paul Ricard to take a big step towards the top of the championship standings. Despite never having driven at Paul Ricard, Aron again dominated the race, winning with the largest margin of victory in the EuroFormula Open championship thus far.
“Bryce Aron took an authoritative win in Race 2 at Circuit Paul Ricard, again on a very warm day. With this third success of the season, the American of Motopark further reduced his gap to the top of the overall standings.” -Euroformula Open
Aron took an unchallenged victory in race two, making the most of a lightning start from fourth on the grid to be leading by turn one. From there, the teenager was never challenged — leaving the rest of the field to battle in his wake — cruising to victory number three with a margin of more than 10 seconds. - Peak Performance Management
Two victories, from the previous rounds at Spa-Francorchamps and the Hungaroring, had already established the American as the main rival to Mexico's Noel Leon as the season approached its halfway point in the south of France, and the MotoPark Academy team-mates would leave the Mediterranean closer than ever in the standings after another superlative display from Aron on a circuit he had never visited before. The American leaves Paul Ricard 17 points from the championship lead as the season reached its midway point.
A Stellar Weekend at Paul Ricard Sees Aron take two trips to the podium.
Bryce Winning at Paul Ricard
After the win, Aron commented,. "I found the right line at the start and could pull away in the initial laps. The team has given me a sensational car and I just had to stay focused and finish the job.” - Euroformula Open
"The objective is to fight for the title and consistency is key," Aron surmised. "It was good to be able to cut into the points deficit this weekend, and to go into the second half of the season within touching distance of top spot. There is a lot of racing still to go."
Round five of the 2023 EuroFormula Open takes place, after a short summer recess, at the Red Bull Ring in Austria, over the weekend of 9-10 September.
Aron Dominates at Hungaroring
Bryce Aron claimed a dominant win in the 2023 EuroFormula Open series at the Hungaroring, winning with the largest margin of victory and claiming the fastest race lap of the weekend. Aron is now second in the overall championship standings.
Aron, who had already triumphed during the recent Spa-Francorchamps triple-header round, underlined his potential for further success by immediately trading for the top spot throughout testing, and posting the second-fastest time overall in testing.
“The sinuous nature of the Hungaroring often leads to processional racing and this was the case in the opening race, where the grid order remained almost the same to the finish, with only Aron altering the top six in the course of 17 laps.
From pole position in Race 2, Aron made a good getaway and cemented his advantage on the long run to turn one, extending his lead, from 1.5 seconds at the end of lap one to nearly 8.5 seconds as he took the checkered flag.” – Peak Performance Management
On lap 3 Aron posted his fastest lap and remained quicker than the field for the remainder of the 17-lap race. Aron’s lap would be the fastest race lap of the weekend. An impressive performance made even more remarkable as it was Aron’s first time at the circuit, and he is one of the only drivers in recent EuroFormula Open history to have won on Hungaroring debut.
Aron commented, “The start of the race was crucial and I had a good clean getaway and was able to hold my line into the first
corner. After that, I got my head down and focused on executing, the car was simply perfect.”
"A win and decent results against some strong opposition," Aron surmised. "We came away with another great result and some solid points that mean we're now the most prominent challenger in the championship as we head towards the halfway point of the season. There is a lot of racing ahead of us, and I'm certainly going to keep on pushing."
Round four of the 2023 EuroFormula Open series is scheduled to take place at Paul Ricard, in the south of France, over the weekend of 21-23 July.
Brilliant maiden win for Bryce Aron at Spa Francorchamps
Bryce Aron produced a stellar performance to claim his first win in the 2023 EuroFormula Open series at Spa-Francorchamps, capping an excellent weekend at the Belgian circuit that also included a second podium appearance.
The American, driving for the Motopark Academy team, started fourth on the grid in the second race of the meeting but was soon challenging for the lead, swapping the top spot at Les Combes on several occasions before opening out an advantage he would not lose. Defending brilliantly against drivers benefitting from the draft, Aron’s first EuroFormula win was never in question as he crossed the finish line to claim victory.
Aron’s victory came the morning after his first podium in the series, a well-earned third place from fifth on the grid in race one of the Spa triple-header. Having qualified fifth in a closely fought single qualifying session, the American briefly went four-wide down the Kemmel Straight after gaining a position at the start, and later passed Simonazzi for the final podium place to complete a Motopark 1-2-3.
Race three saw Aron starting on the front row but, after holding down second position for a couple of laps, a challenge for the lead resulted in the #23 being left no racing room and pushed wide through the Turn 5/6/7 complex. Powerless to prevent a loss of position, Aron attempted to climb back through the order, but was eventually classified fifth as the event finished under a red flag. His results across the weekend, however, were enough to vault the American into a comfortable third place in the overall standings ahead of round three next month. -Peak Performance Management
"It feels great to get that first win under my belt," Aron admitted. "It wasn't easy, having to fight with Simonazzi early on and then defend from my team-mate right at the end, but I managed to keep cool and focus on what I needed to do to claim maximum points."
Round three of the season takes place at The Hungaroring, near Budapest, over the weekend of 17-18 June.
Formula Scout
Bryce Aron dominates Euroformula race two at Hungaroring
Euroformulaopen.net
Authoritative second success for Bryce Aron (Motopark)
Brilliant Maiden Win for Bryce Aron at Spa Francorchamps
Bryce Aron brilliantly took his maiden Euroformula Open win this morning at Spa-Francorchamps. The American driver of Motopark put a faultless performance throughout a Race 2 full of duels. He first had to battle with Francesco Simonazzi (BVM Racing) with whom he exchanged the lead several times before having to keep at bay Noel León in the closing laps. “It was a tough, exciting race, with a lot of fighting”, said Aron, “but I managed to keep cool, focusing on what I had to do, keeping my points."
-Euroformulaopen.net
Race 1 culminated in a well earned podium for Bryce Aron. Having started 5th on the grid, Aron gained a position on the start of the race. Shortly thereafter Aron went four wide down the Kemmel straight for the race lead but was forced onto the grass. Despite this, Aron managed to hold position. A few laps later Bryce took 3rd by going around the outside of Simonazzi at Les Combs. From then on Aron chased down the race leaders, halving their advantage and posting the second fastest lap of the race.
Aron Takes Podium in Race 1 at Spa Francorchamps
Aron 4th on Euroformula Open Debut
Bryce Aron claimed a trio of top 5 finishes on his debut in the EuroFormula Open Series, twice finishing 4th on the road at his first ever visit to the Autodromo Internacional do Algarve in Portugal.
The American is driving for the Motopark Academy team as he steps up for a first full campaign in continental Europe. Aron featured in the top five throughout the three day meeting. starting with a day of testing and culminating in three races across the weekend. - Peak Performance Management
Aron's team elected to send him out late in the lone qualifying session, utilizing only one set of new tires. Aron was up to 3rd just minutes into his qualifying run, but competitors who had opted for 2 new sets of tires, were seen to have the advantage. Despite this, Aron locked down fifth position on the grid and was mere hundredths from 3rd.
"Race one, later in the day, saw Aron maintain 5th place while establishing a large gap to the cars behind over the course of the 17 laps. Under EuroFormula's policy of reversing the top 6 drivers, Aron claimed a spot on the outside of row one for the weekend's second race the following morning. In order to avoid a jump start, Aron was forced to break right as the timing lights went out, which led to a hesitant getaway and a drop in positions. Thereafter, the race followed a similar pattern to Saturday's opener, with Aron able to extend the gap to the cars behind while lapping at a quicker pace than the leaders until a gearshift problem halted his progress and left him to settle for 4th." - Peak Performance Management
"The third race of the weekend brought more action for the American, culminating in a pass around the outside of one of his team-mates to secure another fourth place on the final lap." - Peak Performance Management
"A solid weekend even if the results weren't quite what we wanted," Aron reflected. "Portimao was a new circuit to me, but I think I acclimated quickly and was able to post respectable times as one of the fastest drivers throughout the weekend."
Race Report Monza + Red Bull Ring
As the only driver to never have driven, raced or even tested at Monza, Bryce impressed with his pace in the qualifying session which often featured him at the top spot on the leaderboard. Monza, “the temple of speed,” is a track well known for its extreme effect with draft and high speed. Bryce’s flyer lap was disrupted by a slower car, which necessitated making a pass on the outside of Parabolica, something you never want to have to do on your fastest lap. Bryce qualified mere hundredths off of the top spot.
As the cars left for the grid for the first race, the sky looked clear but conditions deteriorated rapidly. The race was declared “wet” and all teams changed from slicks to rain tires. The race started under a safety car due to the rain. Despite the heavy rain the safety car pulled off the track, Bryce and several others missed a corner and had to take the escape route. Though the spray made it
difficult for all of the drivers to see. Bryce had the added handicap of having a dark visor. Bryce was essentially driving with a blindfold at 150 mph. Bryce rejoined at the back of the field and the safety car was immediately deployed and remained on track for the remainder of the race. Passing is not allowed under safety car therefore Bryce was stuck at the back of the pack.
Bryce had excellent starts for race 2 and 3. On the way to the grid for race 2 Bryce’s left front brake rotor exploded. Bryce’s chief mechanic did an amazing job of replacing the rotor on the grid prior to the 3 minute board. Bryce remained composed despite this and had an amazing start as he went from 7th to 3rd by turn 2. Many consider racing at Monza to be a “lottery” as the draft is so strong that all the drivers end up in prolonged battles for positions. With little to no room to pass in many places, this leads to many accidents. A driver in front of Bryce attempted to pass in the middle of a turn, made contact with the driver in front and unexpectedly stopped immediately in front of Bryce. Bryce had no way to avoid the other driver and was collected in the incident. Bryce’s car sustained too much damage to continue and he was forced to retire from the race.
In the last race Bryce started in third and was able to get to the lead of the race in turn 1. Bryce was able to defend for several laps. Ultimately falling victim to the tow, Bryce went on to battle for position. Another driver made a move that forced Bryce off the track, but Bryce was able to rejoin. Suddenly Bryce's car seemed to be lacking stability but Bryce continued on, though he appeared to be sliding all over the track. When Bryce returned to the pits we could see that his car was covered in oil which was spewing out of the car in front of him. The oil made it impossible for Bryce to pass and move forward and had been the cause of the sliding. Though there were many positives to take away, in terms of Bryce’s pace and race craft, it was a disappointing weekend; the results being a confluence of circumstance and luck.
We did not report on the Red Bull Ring as we were waiting for the data analysis from the team. Something had seemed off with the car and as we had suspected the data confirmed that there were various issues from set up to engine performance that had greatly compromised Bryce’s race weekend. Despite this Bryce led Race 2 at the Red Bull Ring for 18 of 20 laps when he was hit from behind and spun by Simonazzi.
Race Report Mugello
In Race 1 Bryce's car had a damper failure which made the car very difficult to drive. With a damper failure the car becomes very unstable and is challenging to keep on track. This had enomrous consequences, but despite the issue Bryce was able to bring his Motopark car home in 5th place.
In race 2, while fighting for a podium and perhaps a win, Bryce's left rear tire exploded suddenly in turn 8 at 130 mph+. Bryce was somehow able to keep the car straight through the gravel trap and make it back to the pits. The team replaced the left rear tire with a used spare and Bryce returned to the race a lap down. Even on a mismatched set Bryce had great pace leading everyone to think about what could have been. With no further incidents and no safety car there was no opportunity for Bryce to make back positions.
Though these things happen in racing the results are dissapointing for Bryce who was battling for the championship.
Aron Fast at Suzuka
Bryce was consistently in the top 5 and finished the 2nd day of testing as 5th fastest overall. Gearbox failures prevented Bryce from setting a time on the first day of testing.
2022 Japanese SUPER FORMULA LIGHTS Championship Official Test Results
Aron Top 5 with B-MAX Racing
