Photo credit: Travis Hinkle | Penske Entertainment

Liam Sceats had a breakout weekend for HMD Motorsports in Indy NXT testing at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca on Wednesday and Thursday, as the 2024 New Zealand Grand Prix winner ran near the top of the field in both wet and dry conditions.

Sceats finished fifth in the wet session in the morning, putting himself as the second-quickest of all HMD cars behind reigning series rookie of the year Caio Collet. Sceats was sitting right behind experienced Indy NXT drivers like Myles Rowe and Callum Hedge and was also ahead of Lochie Hughes, who Sceats fought with for the USF Pro 2000 championship in 2024.

In the final session of the day, Sceats came out swinging on a much drier circuit and was still able to put his car only seven tenths off of Dennis Hauger’s session-leading time of 1:13.752. Sceats’s best of the session and weekend was the 1:14.519 he accumulated in his 34 laps on track during the afternoon session.

Sceats was the only driver competing during this week’s testing who is not currently signed to Indy NXT for 2025. He finished fifth last season in USF Pro 2000. Two of the four drivers ahead of him, Lochie Hughes and Nikita Johnson, are already confirmed for a full and partial Indy NXT seat respectively.

However, this strong offseason should put the New Zealander in strong contention for one. Back in October on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course, he also put down a fifth-place finish during the Chris Griffis Memorial Test to kick off what has been a promising offseason for the 19-year-old.