Matt Brabham had his first drive of a current IndyCar yesterday when he took to the wheel of an Andretti Autosport machine at Lucas Oil Raceway (formerly Indianapolis Raceway Park).

Fresh from establishing a new Indy Lights lap record at St. Petersburg last weekend, Brabham was invited to drive the Andretti Autosport IndyCar whilst filming for commercial needs.

He was behind the wheel for much of the day, which gave him the opportunity to get a feeling for the power and downforce of the Andretti Autosport Honda-powered Dallara. Brabham has an affinity with the short Lucas Oil Raceway oval, having won in the Pro Mazda category in 2013.

It was a landmark day for the 21-year-old grandson of the late Sir Jack Brabham - becoming the first Brabham to drive an IndyCar since his father Geoff raced at the Indianapolis 500 in 1993 and is another milestone towards achieving his short term goal of securing a fulltime Verizon IndyCar Series drive.

It also came on the day that would have been Sir Jack’s birthday, adding further significance.

The drive positions the Brabham family alongside the Andrettis to have had three generations pilot a version of North America’s premier open-wheel racecars.

Upon reflecting on what he experienced throughout the day, Matt felt it gave him a great chance to understand what an IndyCar feels like to drive:

"It was a fantastic day as I can finally say I've driven an IndyCar,” said Brabham. “Even though it was just for commercial filming purposes, it just made me really want to race one even more.

“The IndyCar felt like it had a lot more downforce than any other car I have driven, and to drive one on the limit must be awesome.”

Brabham and his team are currently working to secure funding for the remainder of the 2015 Indy Lights season, whilst also looking at the option of a limited Verizon IndyCar Series campaign.