Dunne shines for Dale Coyne at Barber IndyCar test

Formula 2 front runner Alex Dunne spent Monday morning driving for Dale Coyne at Barber Motorsports Park and led the session that included ECR’s Hunter McElrea and Dreyer & Reinbold Racing’s Conor Daly.

The Irishman shared the No. 19 Dale Coyne Racing Honda with 2026 Indy NXT champion Nikita Johnson, who took over for the afternoon session, but in his 55 laps running, the 1m07.674s lap stood as the best of the day until McElrea improved it with a 1m07.557s tour later in the day. Daly, making his first appearance for DRR on its return as a full-time entrant, was third behind Dunne in the No. 24 Honda with a 1m07.830s and Johnson, in his first IndyCar test, completed the quartet with a 1m08.020s in the No. 19 car.

After getting his first taste of the rolling Alabama road course and IndyCar’s Dallara DW12 chassis with its 2.2-liter twin-turbo V6 formula, the 20-year-old, who sits third in the F2 standings with nine podiums and one win this season, says it felt good.

“The car, the track, everything. I loved it all,” Dunne told RACER. “To be honest, the car was super cool. I think definitely got quite a bit more power, a lot more downforce than what I'm used to, so to go out and have a play, let's say, and just enjoy the car, was really cool, and the track was really nice as well. It's definitely a bit more old school where you don't really have a lot of runoff. The car on this track feels a bit like a roller coaster. For the day as a whole, to jump in and be comfortable pretty quickly, and I think I was quickest when I when I got out of the car in the morning, so overall, I really enjoyed it.”

Dunne, who currently sits third in the Formula 2 standings, welcomes the challenge of taking on ovals if given the chance to compete in IndyCar. James Black/Penske Entertainment

Dunne’s been looking in for a few months as he contemplates shifting his career path from Europe to the U.S. with IndyCar. Coyne is known to be extremely keen on Dunne, which can only be a positive if the Irishman decides to join the team.

“I definitely like what I what I've seen so far,” Dunne said of the series. “IndyCar has always been a series that's interested me. I think naturally, with the path that I've been on and what I've worked towards, the goal will always be to be a Formula 1 driver. But I think there comes a time when, realistically, that chance becomes more difficult, and I've always said that the next best option for me and the thing I'd love to do most has always been IndyCar.

“To finally have got the opportunity to come over here and test the car with Dale and be in talks for a little while was really cool for me. I loved every second of it. To be honest, I think working with everyone was really cool. IndyCar seems to be a great series. Obviously, I haven't raced in it – at least yet – but from what I can see, and I try and keep a close eye on it over the last couple of years and watch as many races as possible, it’s a series that really promotes old school, good, hard racing which, as a driver, is what you want.”

The evaluation test could lead to Dunne being signed to contest his rookie season with Coyne, but there’s nothing to announce at this moment.

“I'm quite a big fan of the of the calendar as a whole,” Dunne continued. “Most of the tracks I haven't driven in real life, but I spend a lot of time on my sim at home and a lot of time on iRacing, so although I've never been to the tracks, I know where most of them go. In general, they all seem really cool. For me, street courses is something I particularly enjoy. You know, the feeling of pushing on the limit, getting up close and personal to the walls on the quali lap is a feeling I've always really enjoyed.”

Dunne says he welcomes the challenge of learning to race on ovals.

“It's obviously not something I've done, and I think it's not something to be underestimated as well,” he added. “You know, it can look quite simple outside to the naked eye, but I imagine once you get into the details of it, there's a lot of things you can do as a driver to make the difference. But I think I've always enjoyed high-speed style corners, and that's kind of what an oval is to a certain extent. So, I think once I get used to it, we should be pretty good.”