Jose Maria Lopez has been very successful in endurance racing, winning at Le Mans in 2021 for Toyota and finishing second four times.
The Argentinian raced for Toyota in the World Endurance Championship from 2017 until this season, when he stepped in for the injured Mike Conway at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Lopez has also competed in single-seaters, racing in Formula E for three seasons while balancing the all-electric series with the WEC.
In his last appearance at Le Mans, he performed admirably, driving the No. 7 car to second place, narrowly missing out on his second victory in the 24-hour race.
When speaking to Infobae, he explained that he had possibilities to test in IndyCar, but they never came to fruition.
Jose Maria Lopez explained he said no to IndyCar because it isn’t what he is ‘looking for’
Lopez has not yet driven an IndyCar or raced in the championship despite competing in a variety of series in a range of cars.
The Argentinian driver has also raced in single-seaters such as Formula 3000 and the GP2 Series as he originally aimed to race in Formula 1.
He explained that he hasn’t yet closed the door on racing in IndyCar and he is pleased to be working at Toyota.
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Lopez said: “The possibility existed and exists. It was talked about, but it didn’t come from me. They talked to someone close to me, but in reality it was me who said no.
“That is to say, I’m not closing the door on anything, I know I can be in any category , but it’s not what I’m looking for today for my career. It’s not something I’m looking for.
“Today I’m very happy where I am with Toyota and what I do must be something that excites me and generates something for me. Obviously I always want to win, but now I’m looking more for the feeling of enjoying myself, knowing that I don’t have that many years left.”
What is Jose Maria Lopez racing in during the 2024 season?
Lopez competed at Le Mans for Toyota and drove admirably, and he has raced a Lexus for Akkodis ASP Team throughout the rest of the season in the WEC.
The Argentinian driver hasn’t scored a point so far this season, with one round to go at the 8 Hours of Bahrain.
Alongside his commitments in WEC, Lopez will also race in the 200km of Buenos Aires in the TC 2000 championship this weekend on the fifth and sixth of October.