James Roe primed for final stepping stone towards IndyCar dream

James Roe only took up racing in 2015 which is quite a late start for the majority of those involved in elite-level motorsport.

But remarkably he's already within one step of realising his dream of making it to the highest possible level of open wheel racing in North America, the IndyCar Series.

After a progressively strong 2021 in the Indy Pro 2000 series, where he won the final race of the season in dramatic fashion, the Kildare native has made the step up and is about to embark on his debut season in Indy Lights, the highest juncture on the Road To Indy development pathway and the final rung on the ladder for those aspiring to get to IndyCar.

With the opening round in St Petersburg, Florida this weekend, it's a very hectic time for the 23-year-old, who has been based Stateside since 2018.

When RTÉ Sport caught up with him on Wednesday, he was about to board a flight in Washington DC to continue his onward journey towards Florida.

Amid the hustle and bustle and noise of an international airport, it did offer him a brief moment to reflect on a meteoric rise into the Indy Lights ranks where he will race with the TJ Speed Motorsport outfit.

"The reality is we're one step away, we're at the final stepping stone - the next step from here is from Indy Lights to IndyCar and that's the pinnacle of US motorsport," said Roe, whose uncle Michael competed in the CART Championship in the '80s.

"It's been an amazing journey, pretty surreal when I look back at it. I was only thinking about it earlier this week when I woke up on Monday morning and thought, 'Finally, it's race week'.

"It's pretty surreal how fast it's happened and I'm just excited to be here and taking it one race, one moment, one day at a time."

The chance to make the step up