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Pietro Fittipaldi to return at Mid-Ohio

Pietro Fittipaldi IndyCar 2018 PHX

Pietro Fittipaldi. Photo: IndyCar

Joe Skibinski

Pietro Fittipaldi, the grandson of two-time Formula 1 world champion and two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Emerson Fittipaldi, is set to rejoin the Verizon IndyCar Series after suffering fractures to both legs back in May.

The 22-year-old Fittipaldi suffered the injuries while competing in the FIA World Endurance Championship’s 6 Hours of Spa - the DragonSpeed BR1 entry he was piloting left the circuit going through the Eau Rouge/Raidillon series of corners, and impacted a barrier head on.

Fittipaldi climbed back behind of the wheel of the No. 19 Paysafe Honda for Dale Coyne Racing last week in a test at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, and he was deemed fit and able to return to IndyCar competition at this weekend’s Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio (July 29, 3:00 p.m. ET, CNBC).

“I feel like I’m back,” Fittipaldi told IndyCar.com following the test. “Obviously (it was) the first day back in the car after two and a half months and it takes a little bit more than usual to get back up to speed. I was expecting it to take a little bit longer, but I got up to speed quickly. We were able to work on setup and move forward for the race weekend. We have a decent base now, and I’m ready for the race.”

Fittipaldi has been working with renowned INDYCAR safety consultant, and veteran of what is now called the AMR INDYCAR Safety Team, Dr. Terry Trammell during his recovery, and Fittipaldi highlighted that the process has gone surprisingly quickly.

“I’d never been injured this badly, so I didn’t know what the time frame would be. But everybody has been happy with how my recovery went because it’s gone really fast. Obviously, I’m really happy about that, too,” he said in the aforementioned IndyCar.com story.

Fittipaldi’s lone IndyCar start came back in April at ISM Raceway, where he finished 23rd after an early crash.

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