Derek Higgins ( ga, Ruaridh Ó hUiginn; born June 12, 1964) is an

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

former race car driver. Born in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

, he was a two-time winner of the Mexican Formula 3 championship in 1995 and 1997 before moving to the American

Indy Lights Indy NXT, previously Indy Lights, is an American developmental automobile racing series sanctioned by IndyCar, currently known as Firestone Indy NXT Series for sponsorship reasons. Indy Lights is the highest step on the Road to Indy, a program ...

series in 1998. After two successful seasons where he racked up four wins and finished 5th and 7th in series points, he completed his

Indy Racing League The IndyCar Series, currently known as the NTT IndyCar Series under sponsorship, is the highest class of regional North American open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars in the United States, which has been conducted under the auspices of ...

rookie test at

Walt Disney World Speedway Walt Disney World Speedway was a racing facility located on the grounds of the Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida, near Orlando. It was built in 1995 by IMS Events, Inc., a subsidiary of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Corporation, an ...

with

McCormack Motorsports McCormack Motorsports is a former Indy Racing League team owned by Dennis McCormack that operated from 1996 to 2001. Based in Avon, Indiana, the team debuted at the 1996 Indianapolis 500 with a car for Randy Tolsma, however, it failed to make the f ...

, expecting to find a ride in the series. However, he was unable sign a deal with a team and returned to Indy Lights for a partial season in 2000 and a complete season in 2001, the series' last. After Indy Lights he competed in a few

Toyota Atlantic The Atlantic Championship is a formula race car series with races throughout North America. It has been called Champ Car Atlantics (after its former name), Toyota Atlantics (due to the series' previous history of using Toyota-powered engines) ...

races in 2002 and has not competed in a notable professional race since. Derek then became the Assistant Team Manager to

Conquest Racing Conquest Racing is an auto racing team that competed in the IndyCar Series and the Atlantic Championship. Formerly it competed in the Champ Car World Series. History It is owned by former series competitor Éric Bachelart. The team ran in Indy Li ...

which races in the

.Conquest Racing Official Website
Team Section He then moved on to work for

Panther Racing Panther Racing was an American open wheel auto racing team. It was one of the oldest continually operating teams in the IndyCar Series. Four years in a row (2008–2011), the team finished second at the Indianapolis 500. Formation The team was f ...

. Higgins has also worked as a spotter, notably spotting for driver

Townsend Bell Townsend Bell (born April 19, 1975) is an American professional motor racing driver competing in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, and also as a motorsports commentator for NBC Sports’ IndyCar Series coverage. Early career He spent ...

in the

2013 Indianapolis 500 The 97th Indianapolis 500 was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana on Sunday May 26, 2013. It was the premier event of the 2013 IZOD IndyCar Series season. Tony Kanaan, a native of Brazil, was victorious on a record-settin ...

and driver

Juan Pablo Montoya Juan Pablo Montoya Roldán (; born September 20, 1975) is a Colombian racing driver. He won the International F3000 championship in 1998, the CART FedEx Championship Series in 1999 in his debut year in the series, and the IMSA WeatherTech S ...

in the 2014 Indianapolis 500.

References

1964 births Irish racing drivers Indy Lights drivers British Formula Three Championship drivers Japanese Formula 3 Championship drivers Mexican Formula Three Championship drivers Atlantic Championship drivers Living people Formula Ford drivers {{Ireland-autoracing-bio-stub RSM Marko drivers German Formula Three Championship drivers Paul Stewart Racing drivers