INDYCAR: "Of course, I missed this racing," Aleshin says

"I missed IndyCar a lot," said Aleshin at the Verizon IndyCar Series Media Day in Indianapolis. "We've been working very hard since last year. First point was to do some races in the end of the year, so I did one race in Sonoma, which was very successful. After that, I think it was a little bit easier to get the deal for the year.

"I'm really happy to be back on the team I started with. I think it's great people that are working there and, for sure, we're going to be even more successful this year.

"Last year I did ELMS (European Le Mans Series), racing in Le Mans, Bahrain, driving for SMP Racing and developing a new Russian car, the BR01, which was a very interesting job, actually. So it was important and interesting experience for me which, for sure, going to help.

Aleshin said that he tried to keep up with IndyCar during his absence.

"I tried to watch every race from (Europe). Of course, I missed this racing, and I missed the tough competition that you have here. I think it's one of the best series. Again, I'm very happy to be here.

Aleshin hasn't turned his back on sportscars, though, returning to SMP Racing and its BR01 for last weekend's Rolex 24 At Daytona and putting the Nissan-powered car (LEFT) on the Prototype class pole – albeit only with the ninth-overall time in the unusual weather-affected qualifying session. The race, unfortunately, didn't turn out so well, as the SMP entry was soon dogged by mechanical issues, but Aleshin remains confident in the Russian car's potential.

"It was a big challenge for us because we didn't know where we were going to be, because it's different here in the U.S.," Aleshin said of the car's IMSA debut. "It was a bit difficult, but the qualifying showed we could be pretty competitive there."