Dubai born and bred teenager on his way to Indianapolis
Jones takes his racing career to the United States
DUBAI, 2 JANUARY 2015: Dubai born and bred Edward Jones is taking a big step in his racing career as he plots a new course, to ply his talent in Indy Lights in 2015 which will see him race at the hallowed Indianapolis oval, home of the Indy 500.

Not long ago young Jones could be found regularly pounding around the Dubai Kartdrome, where he spent a large part of his formative racing years, taking part in karting in the UAE Rotax Max series and contesting occasional Kartdrome Endurance Championship races.

Now the driver who wears a Dubai Autodrome sticker on his helmet visor, and was a front runner in the Formula 3 European Championship will move across to Indy Lights for the forthcoming season as part of the Carlin team who are making their first foray into the United States premier junior series.

The UAE based driver was part of Carlin’s Formula 3 line-up in 2014, and although his season was curtailed by injury, he still managed to finish on the podium twice.

Jones said that he has long held an ambition to race in the US, and that Carlin’s recently-announced expansion into Indy Lights means that the timing is right.

“I am really excited and thankful for this opportunity to race in Indy Lights,” said the 19-year-old. “I have always seen myself going over to the States for racing at some point and Carlin’s choice to participate in the series has made it an ideal time to make the transition a reality.”

“There will be a lot to learn for the team and myself especially on the ovals but I am as motivated as ever to make it a success with the aim of making it to IndyCar now clearly in sight.”

Team owner Trevor Carlin said that he is confident Jones can make an immediate impact in the US, “We are beyond delighted that Ed will be making this journey to Indy Lights with us. He’s shown pace and determination this season in F3, and is a joy to work with.”

“It is a great start to our Indy Lights campaign that we are able to take one of our existing drivers to the US, and I’ve no doubt that Ed has the ability to be competitive from the outset.”

Jones had a very successful stint in karting, accolades including: 2006/2007 UAE Cadet Champion, winner of 2007/2008 Middle East Cup in Dubai, 2007/2008: UAE Junior Champion, winner of 2008/2009 Middle East Cup in Egypt, 2008/2009 UAE Junior Rotax Champion and 2009/2010 UAE Junior Rotax Champion.

Prior to his move into the Formula 3 European Championship, in 2013 he was the youngest winner of 2013 Euro F3 Open champion, and was also a frontrunner in Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup.

His only previous experience in the United States was his participation in the Florida Winter Series at the start of 2014.

Jones’ 2015 Indy Lights campaign starts with five test sessions, the first in mid-January, followed by the season opener in St.Petersburg (Florida) with his date at the legendary Indianapolis in May. The Indy Lights championship will be run over ten race weekends.

Edward Jones got his 2015 Indy Lights campaign to the best start possible as he topped the timing sheets at the end of the first day of preseason testing at Homestead Road Course in Florida, USA.

Dubai born and bred Jones impressed in what was his first test in Indy Lights, in a Mazda MZR-R-powered Dallara IL-15 which he has never driven before and on a circuit where he has only driven on once previously.

Jones, a popular driver in the UAE racing community and calls Dubai home, has decided to focus his motorsport career in the United States after two successful seasons competing in Formula 3 in Europe.

On Monday he ended the day fastest of all with a best time of 1:14.5186, and in the process was faster than his illustrious Carlin teammate, ex-Formula 1 driver, Max Chilton in the sister car.

Jones said, “Great first day in the new car with the team. The morning consisted of bedding everything in from the engine, gearbox, brakes and tyres. Everything sorted we were able to do a baseline run which went pretty well.”

“In the afternoon we started to test a few things on the car and made a lot of progress. At the end of the day everyone did qualifying simulations on new tyres and we ended up fastest.”

“It was an amazing effort by the team to get everything prepared and be fastest on our first day whilst our competitors have already had two days testing. We hope to find some more improvements on the car during the course of the week,” added Jones.

Testing on the road course configuration of Homestead continued on Tuesday, with a final day, Wednesday, on the Oval configuration.

Jones, who has never raced or tested on an oval circuit, is relishing the prospect, “It is going to be a steep learning curve to adapt to oval racing. But I fancy the idea as it is a discipline which is a major element in Indy Car racing, which is where I aim to end up in the future.”

Jones missed the first Indy Lights test at Palm Beach Raceway in mid-January, and after Homestead there are two more tests – one at Nola Motorsports Park in Louisiana on 18-19 February and a week later at Barber Motorsports Park in Alabama.

The first race of the 2015 Indy Light season takes place on the weekend of 28-29 March in Saint Petersburg, Florida.

Edward Jones, driving for Carlin, ended his first two days of Indy Lights testing fastest of an impressive line-up of international drivers at Homestead-Miami Speedway in Florida.

The Dubai born and bred resident was quickest on both days, eclipsing his ex-Formula 1 teammate Max Chilton and some of the leading drivers in the series, while making an instant name for himself Stateside where he will be focusing his career in 2015 and beyond.

At the end of day two of testing the Mazda-powered Dallara IL-15 at the Homestead road circuit configuration, Jones said, “I think I adapted well to the car which was a good start. I wasn’t really expecting anything as such before the test.”

“The main thing that was different for me was the turbo and getting used to the turbo lag. The car has more power than I’ve driven before. I got some good feedback on the tires and I think I’ve got a good handle on how they work which is a good sign for the season ahead,” added the 19 year old.

Jones, the 2013 Euro F3 Open champion, was the only driver to break into the 1:13:00 zone with a best lap of 1:13.7460, with the top ten cars separated by just over eight-tenths of a second.

After two days on the road course Jones gets his first taste of oval racing at the same venue (on Thursday) – a challenge he is relishing.

“The ovals are obviously going to be the biggest learning step for us, so I’m excited about this new challenge. The key will be to build up gradually and not make any mistakes,” mused Jones.

LONDON, UK – March 25, 2015 – Ed Jones will make his debut in Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires this weekend, when he takes to the streets of St. Petersburg, Florida with Carlin Motorsports.

The Dubai born and bred resident was part of Carlin’s Formula 3 line-up last year and decided to join them on their journey to the US and Indy Lights at the beginning of the year.

The 20-year-old has already been extremely impressive in recent tests and adapted very quickly to the new Mazda powered Dallara IL-15 car. Jones topped three of the four sessions at Homestead-Miami in January and was the only driver to break into the 73 seconds range.

Commenting on making his debut in Indy Lights this weekend, Jones said, “After an extremely positive pre season it is great to finally start racing! Carlin has done an amazing job to get the whole Indy Lights team sorted out. From the start of testing we have been really fast so I’m looking forward to seeing what we can do at St Petersburg. This weekend will mark the beginning of a new chapter in my career, as it’s my first season in America and hopefully there will be many more to come!”

Jones makes the switch to Indy Lights and the USA this year after becoming the youngest winner of the Euro F3 Open Championship in 2013. Last year, despite missing three races mid-season races due to back injury, he still earned two podium finishes in the FIA European Formula 3 Championship with Carlin.

The weekend will start with a 40-minute “sprint” race starting at 2:25 p.m. ET on March 28th and a 60-minute “feature” at 11:45 a.m. on March 29th.

Practice and qualifying will be streamed on the INDYCAR YouTube channel www.youtube.com/indycar and RaceControl.IndyCar.com. The race will air on NBCSN on April 5 at 4:30 pm (ET). Behind-the-scenes action can be found on the newly launched Road To Indy TV app.