Despite not initially being listed to run, Panther Racing's Vitor Meira turned the first official IndyCar Series lap at Daytona International Speedway, as the series began a two-day 'compatibility test' on the facility's road course yesterday [Tuesday].

Meira was joined by series champions Sam Hornish Jr, Tony Kanaan and Scott Dixon as work began not only on assessing Daytona's suitability for inclusion on future IRL race or test schedules, but also on evaluating the 100 per cent ethanol-fuelled Honda V8 engine set for introduction to the series next year.

With 2005 champion Dan Wheldon now due to join the test today [27 September], Kanaan and Hornish debuted the 3.5-litre motor and reported little trouble adjusting to the new package, which will be used by the entire field in 2007.

"We ran the 3.5-litre with the 100 per cent ethanol and it's running great," Kanaan said, "We did a bunch of laps, and I'm working my butt off. It ran perfect. We have a couple of things to adjust mapping-wise because it's a different fuel, but so far and so good.

"Running an IndyCar and running through that banking is pretty neat. It feels like we're on a rollercoaster every lap when you get there. You kind of forget how steep the banking is. They said it's 35 degrees but, to me, it looked like 60!"

All four drivers ran consistently in the 75-second range on what is the motorcycle road course at the Daytona complex.

"The new engine feels good and it will get better with more testing," said Hornish, "Everyone is still learning about the engine and the fuel right now, but we have another day to test on Wednesday. We haven't reached top speed. Not knowing exactly the track was going to be like, we weren't 100 per cent of where we wanted to be. We've already reached speeds of 190mph, and we're not really pushing it."

Meira and Dixon ran the 2006-spec Honda, with the Kiwi's car using the smaller 25-gallon fuel cell being considered for next season.

"It's pretty cool [to be here]," Dixon said of his return to the scene of his Rolex 24 victory, "I think it's a very special day for the IndyCar Series to bring an open-wheel car to Daytona. It's definitely exciting to race around here and drive on the banking. The difference from when I have been here in the past in the 24-hour cars is a lot different."

Dixon's Target Chip Ganassi team, which used the Panoz chassis for the road and street course events in 2006, used the Dallara alternative on a road course for the first time at the test, having indicated that it intends to use the Dallara exclusively in 2007.