Team Penske/Penske Racing Dominate Day 1 in Barber

New year, new teams, new drivers, new paint schemes, still the same team to beat. Roger Penske’s outfit dominated the opening day of testing at Barber Motorsports Park, with Ryan Briscoe, Helio Castroneves, and Will Power taking three of the top four spots at the end of the day. Justin Wilson, Takuma Sato, and E.J. Viso also impressed in their debuts with KV Racing. But, it was the Penske outfit that stole the show.

“It's nice to be at the top of the speed charts. It's important because it is our only test before the first race, so we're all comparing times. It's nice to have the Team Penske cars on top. It's a great way to start the year," said Ryan Briscoe, who topped the speed charts on day one.

Helio Castroneves discussed out this first day was all about knocking some rust off. “Today was about getting a rhythm. The last time I was in a Team Penske car on a road course was Infineon (last August). You need testing to get your muscles back into shape. Even if you've been working out, you still need to get your rhythm back and get to work. That was the goal today. Tomorrow we'll work on the small details."

Will Power, the newest member o, and the Penske giant, is coming off a back injury suffered at Infineon Raceway, and was very happy to come out of the gate with quick pace.

“It felt great to be back in the car. This has been the longest offseason of my career. We were able to learn a few things today. The No. 12 Verizon Team Penske car ran great today. The team worked together nicely and we had a productive day. I am looking forward to getting back on track tomorrow."


The KV Racing squad also impressed. With the already confirmed Takuma Sato and E.J. Viso, as well as potential newcomer James Rossiter, the former Champ Car squad took the sixth (Viso), seventh (Sato), and thirteenth fastest times.

“It was a pretty good day for the whole KV Racing Technology team,” said Viso. “It was the first time we had three cars on track and I think it was a successful day. I am very happy to be part of this team. With the little time that I have had with them, the KVRT crew guys have done a great job and I think we showed the hunger make this a very positive year for KV Racing Technology."

Takuma Sato, who had yet to pilot an IndyCar before this test, was elated to one of the quickest on the day. “It was a great day. The KV Racing Technology car was reliable and once I had got used to the way an Indy car handles and how the track layout was I enjoyed it. The track is superb, a lot of fast corners and elevation. The day started off slowly, with cold temperatures and difficult conditions, but by the end we had a very successful first test. We went through some setups which helped me to learn a lot and had a very productive first day."

One team that seemed to struggle was Target Chip Ganassi Racing. While Scott Dixon was fifth quickest, 2009 champion Dario Franchitti lingered in the bottom-half of the top ten, ending up ninth. “We went through a list of test items today that we've been working on in the offseason. The weather has changed things slightly. Overall, we learned some things not to do. Hopefully, we'll just keep working our way through our list of items tomorrow."

Still, there doesn’t seem to be much worry in the Ganassi camp. “We worked on a combination on aero and mechanical items today. There's still a lot more work to be done tomorrow so I hope it's going to be a bit warmer for us,” said a calm Dixon.

Like several drivers mentioned, weather has played havoc so far. While there was no precipitation, temperatures were only in the low 40’s much of the day, and the same appears to be in store for tomorrow.

Testing continues tomorrow for the Izod IndyCar Series, with the Firestone Indy Lights teams taking the track on Friday.


Note: FAZZT Racing and Dale Coyne Racing are not participating in this week’s open test, having done private sessions last week at Sebring.