The IndyCar Series are getting underway again as the cars hit the track for the first pre-season test at Homestead. Reports suggest up to 22 cars will be present at the 1,5 mile oval, confirming early rumours that Newman/Haas/Lanigan are about to test Milka Duno in a third car.
Today the IndyCar Series traditionally kick off with an open test at the Homestead-Miami speedway. Drivers and teams are getting up to ten hours of practice on Tuesday and Wednesday to prepare for the 2009 season. Three of the 22 entries are made by Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing, who run a third car to test Milka Duno. The sponsor-backed Venezuelan driver is rumoured to be chasing a deal at the financially struggling outfit.
Rookies for the 2009 season got an extra session of practice yesterday. Other NHL driver Robert Doornbos got his first taste of oval racing, driving a sponsorless, red #06 car with his nickname Bobby D on the sidepods.
"Driving on an oval is definitely different than I expected," said Doornbos, who completed 111 laps. "It felt like going to a new school on the first day. The first five laps I thought 'Oh my god, where did I end up?' But that's because you have to run at a certain pace and once you reach that pace its actually quite fun so we ended the day on a good note and I can go to bed with a smile. I already got the bug and want to go faster and faster so that's a good thing. It's a steep learning curve but I enjoy it like this."
The Dutchman was joined on the track by Indy Lights champion Raphael Matos (Luczo Dragon), former British F3 winner Mike Conway (Dreyer & Reinbold) and Stanton Barrett (3G) for the first rookie test.
The rest of the practice is open for all drivers. Reports suggest Dale Coyne will try to run both 2008 driver Bruno Junqueira and race winner Justin Wilson, who has been desperately working on a 2009 ride for the past weeks.
After the Homestead test, the series will also conduct a test on the road course at Barber Motorsports Park 22-23 March prior to the season-opening race on the streets of St. Petersburg on 5 April.
Timing and scoring info from Homestead will be available at the series' official website indycar.com.
(fc)
Written: Tue, 24 Feb 2009 13:18:37
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