Pippa Mann Homestead test summary

MANN FASTEST AT FIRESTONE INDY LIGHTS OPEN TEST

Pippa Mann topped the speed charts for a second consecutive day at Homestead-Miami Speedway with a lap of 28.4776 second, 187.726 mph, on the 1.5-mile oval.

"I'm really, really pleased," said Mann, who also ran fastest at the rookie testing session the day before the open testing. "My Panther Racing Firestone Indy Lights car has been really fast on both days. It really has been a huge learning experience, and certainly at the open test I spent more time running in traffic. I can't fail to be happy with how we ran, and just hope when we get to the race weekend, we have a similar performance."

The open test was Mann's third day on ovals, but already she has underlined her impressive ability to adapt quickly to not just the track but also to the new car. However, the young Brit conceded that they still had plenty of work ahead of them, and that she would be focusing on maintaining her pace while running in traffic.

"I haven't got used to that aspect of it yet, so that's something that I still need to work on. However I'm pleased that we managed to avoid incidents - we seem to have a much better grip on making the car handle when it's windy. It has been a great start to our pre-season preparations, and I hope our progress continues."

The next official Firestone Indy Lights open test will be on 23rd March at the Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Alabama.

-credit: pmPR