IndyCar
CHAMPCAR/CART: Spring Training Ford Racing Wednesday Notes
FORD TEAMS POST FOUR FASTEST TIMES AFTER FIRST DAY OF CART SPRING TRAINING Max Papis and CART rookie Kenny Brack piloted Bobby Rahal's two CART entries to the top of the speed charts after day one of CART Spring Training. The Team Rahal duo were ...
Edited: Mar 27, 2008, 5:35 AM
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FORD TEAMS POST FOUR FASTEST TIMES AFTER FIRST DAY OF CART SPRING TRAINING
Max Papis and CART rookie Kenny Brack piloted Bobby Rahal's two CART entries to the top of the speed charts after day one of CART Spring Training. The Team Rahal duo were followed closely by Player's-Forsythe driver and newcomer to the Ford Champ Car program, Patrick Carpentier, who also showed he too is comfortable with his new car package by posting the third fastest time of the day.
In all, six of the top seven drivers on CART's combined speed chart for the day were powered by the New Ford-Cosworth XF engine.
MAX PAPIS -7- Miller Lite Ford-Cosworth - Posted Quickest Times in Session - "We have a very good car. We spent most of today evaluating the setup. We never really went looking for speed today but surprisingly it was there. We need to improve our race setup a bit, but we made a tremendous step forward today. The hard work the Ford and Cosworth guys have done over the winter is paying off. In horsepower we are there. We need to concentrate on making the cars setup and how to make it comfortable. I don't think people understand how much work has gone into the new engine. I don't think there is one bolt that is that same. I am very pleased with the power and the consistency of the engine."
KENNY BRACK -8- Shell Ford-Cosworth - Second Fastest - "I have to thank Max, he set the car up for me and I just went out and drive it. But seriously, I am very happy overall with our performance, for Team Rahal and Max. I think I am in a very good position. We are not done yet, but we are off to a good start. This is kind of what I am use to - an oval course in these types of cars." CAN YOU COMPARE THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN DRIVING A CHAMP CAR AND AN IRL CAR? "They are pretty similar. There is not much difference in feel between the two cars"
PATRICK CARPENTIER -32- Player's Ford-Cosworth - Third Fastest - "We made a lot of improvements today. There was a huge change in the car when we went from old tires to new ones. Sometimes they were good during long runs and sometimes were good with the race setup. The basic setup we have is pretty good though. The Ford guys are great to work with. They are very open minded to things we want to try which is a big help." WHAT ARE YOUR IMPRESSIONS OF THE NEW REAR WING? "I like it. It has slowed us down in the corners as well as on the straights. In the past, when we have tried different wings they seemed to slow us down on the straights but we didn't have any downforce in the corners. But the new wing seems to achieve both objectives." FORD POWERED CARS WERE AT THE FRONT OF THE GRID ALL DAY. "Yes, they have been quick all day. The new Ford engine is so powerful that it seems to make up times when you have problems with other parts of the car. That's going to be a big advantage for the teams running it."
MICHAEL ANDRETTI -6- Texaco/Havoline Ford-Cosworth - Fourth Quick - "We made a few changes in the morning that we needed to try. Today was really an opportunity to learn about the car's natural characteristics, experiment with some things and get a good baseline to work from. We made a few changes to the car during the day and they seem to be in the right directions. Unfortunately we didn't get a chance to do a run on low fuel with new tires because I think we would have been very quick.
ALEX TAGLIANI -33- Player's Ford-Cosworth - Sixth Quickest -"I had a good car today. We still need to continue the development of the setup but overall I am proud of the run we were able to put together. But at the same time, I am realistic. The speed is not always going to come this easy. We have a good car but I am just driving it right now.
TAKUYA KUROSAWA -19- MTCI Ford-Cosworth - 18th Quick - "This is a very fantastic experience. It's very exciting. The cars, compared to the F3000 car I drive for 10 years is really big. The F3000 car only had about 470 horsepower, but the Champ Cars have over 800 and it takes a bit to get use to that. Overall I am happy with my first day of testing."
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