IRL IndyCar Test in the West Race Report

February 5, 2003 — Torrance, Calif.

IRL IndyCar "Test in the West"		Practice Report
Circuit:		California Speedway (2.0-mile oval) Fontana, CA
Weather:		Clear, mild, 74-degrees F
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Combined Practice Report:
Ps. Driver	Team	Manufacturer	Lap Time	Average Speed
1. Felipe Giaffone	Mo Nunn Racing	Toyota	31.898	225.714 mph
2. Tomas Scheckter	Chip Ganassi Racing	Toyota	32.260	223.186 mph
3. Tony Kanaan	Andretti Green Racing	Honda	32.352	222.547 mph
4. Dario Franchitti	Andretti Green Racing	Honda	32.354	222.534 mph
5. Gil de Ferran	Team Penske	Toyota	32.355	222.525 mph
6. Scott Dixon	Chip Ganassi Racing	Toyota	32.377	222.379 mph
7. Tora Takagi	Mo Nunn Racing	Toyota	32.438	221.958 mph
8. A.J. Foyt IV	Foyt Racing	Toyota	32.533	221.308 mph
9. Al Unser Jr.	Kelley Racing	Toyota	32.574	221.030 mph
10. Helio Castroneves	Team Penske	Toyota	32.578	221.009 mph
11. Kenny Brack	Team Rahal	Honda	27.992	220.717 mph
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15. Dan Wheldon	Andretti Green Racing	Honda	32.847	219.196 mph
17. Roger Yasukawa	Super Aguri Fernandez	Honda	33.131	217.315 mph
20. Michael Andretti	Andretti Green Racing	Honda	24.449	209.005 mph

Kanaan Heads Hondas at "Test in the West"

The Andretti Green Racing duo of Tony Kanaan and Dario Franchitti led the way today for Honda as the company's new IRL IndyCar Series program made its public debut at the pre-season "Test in the West" at California Speedway. The test session, which is open to the public, will continue later this week at Phoenix International Raceway in Arizona.

Kanaan's best lap of 222.547 mph just shaded his teammate by two-thousandths of a second as both men prepare for their first season of IndyCar competition. Meanwhile, Team Rahal's Kenny Brack ended the day just outside the top 10, setting his best speed of 220.717 mph in the morning practice session.

Michael Andretti ran only a handful of laps for photographic purposes then reverted to his dual role as team owner in assisting Kanaan, Franchitti and newcomer Dan Wheldon. Another series rookie, Roger Yasukawa, had his day cut short by a pair of minor mechanical problems aboard his Super Aguri Fernandez Racing Honda.

Tony Kanaan (#11 Andretti Green Honda) 3rd fastest: "We came here expecting to just 'run'. It was the first test for the entire team to operate together. So I have to be pretty pleased with today's result, even though my quick lap was the result of a 'tow'. But today was only my fourth time in this type of car, so it was mostly a learning experience for me today. And of course it helped to have Michael [Andretti] around. He was a big help in learning about these cars and this type of racing."

Robert Clarke (General Manager, Honda Performance Development): "Overall, we're pleased with today's results. It appears we're in a good, competitive position for the start of the season, and that will enable us to focus on the small details. The overall engine design seems to be good, it is durable and robust. Now, we can concentrate on 'driver tuning' areas such as driveability, fuel economy, a 'soft' rev limiter and the pit-lane speed limiter. We're pretty much where we hoped to be at this point in the season