Sophia Floersch set to make Indy NXT testing debut

FIA F3 star Sophia Floersch is set to make her debut on American soil, announcing her first Indy NXT test with HMD Motorsports.

Photo credits: Sophia Floersch

Sophia Floersch is set to make her first appearance behind the wheel on American soil, as she announced she will be entering her first Indy NXT test with HMD Motorsports.

After the Chris Griffis Memorial Test at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the series will in fact now head to Barber Motorsports Park for more testing - and the 23-year-old German will get the opportunity to drive the Dallara IL-15 car for the first time.

Floersch contested three seasons in FIA Formula 3, including the last two after returning to single seaters in 2023 after a sports car stint, where she raced in European Le Mans Series, DTM, FIA WEC including three 24 Hours of Le Mans from 2020 to 2022.

Floersch, who made her car racing debut in the 2015 Ginetta Junior Championship - one of the most competitive junior series in Europe - with two wins, four podiums and a fastest lap, later transitioned to Formula 4 in 2016, competing in both the Italian and German-based series over two seasons. She scored two podiums in the German championship, and was a consistent point scorer with a personal best of fourth in the Italian F4 over just three weekends.

In 2018 she made the step up to Formula 3 machinery, entering the FIA Formula 3 European Championship where she scored points with a 10th place at Red Bull Ring. At the end of the season, her infamous crash at the Macau GP made global headlines, but certainly didn't break her spirit and Sophia was back on track in the newly launched Formula Regional European Championship a few months later. Seventh in the standings and with fourth places to her name, Floersch graduated to FIA F3 - after making her historic return to Macau.

Her rookie year in FIA F3 saw a good progression over the season, with a 12th place at Monza as her best result. Transitioning to sports car racing, Floersch immediately showed good speed in LMP2 prototypes, with her first podium coming at the 4 Hours of Paul Ricard in 2021. She returned to the rostrum in the 2022 season opener, and battled all season for the top three despite some misfortunes. Additionally, she collected her first top ten in class at Le Mans on her first ever participation in 2020, and made a spectacular comeback in the 2022 race to finish 5th in class.

Her return to single seaters in 2023 saw character building seasons yet with very steady improvements: she became the first female driver to score points in the new generation of FIA F3 with a spectacular seventh place finish at Spa Francorchamps in 2023. Her following season turned out to be a more challenging season yet she again knocked on the door of the top ten at Red Bull Ring and secured three top-15 results, overcoming a number of difficulties throughout the season.

Following in the footsteps of Jamie Chadwick - who moved to the United States for her Indy NXT program and took a pole position and a race win - Floersch is now exploring opportunities Stateside.

HMD Motorsports has already announced Nolan Allaer, Josh Pierson, Tommy Smith, Caio Collet, Bryce Aron and Hailie Deegan for the full 2025 campaign.