Although likely to have a slight bias given the fact that his Indy Racing League ride is sponsored by those promoting alternative fuels, Rahal Letterman Racing's Jeff Simmons was enthusiastic about the switch to 100 per cent ethanol.
Simmons was among the four drivers testing at Indianapolis this week, gaining a sneak peak at 3.5-litre Honda engine and the revised fuel that all cars will use next season. Along with Andretti Green's Tony Kanaan - who ran the ethanol engine at Daytona last week - Simmons became the first driver to run a 100 per cent ethanol-powered car at the Brickyard, and was pleased with what he found.
"There's a difference, and it's all been positive so far," the Ethanol-backed driver said, "It's great to be one of the guys to have the chance to run the new motor next year. It seems to me, so far, that we've got a broader power band. We're going through the corners better. It allows us to do some things with gearing, whereas you had to be really precise with the gearing last year. We're able to pull some really good speed even if we're a little off on the gearing."
After a three-week break from the #17 Dallara, The 2006 Bombardier Rookie of the Year runner-up - who remains unsigned for 2007 - was raring to get back to work.
"Hopefully, the test will give us a step up going into the off-season and prepare for next year," he said, "Any chance you get to run at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway is a big deal. I'm glad I was asked to be part of it.
"I'm just looking forward to building on what we did in the second half of the season. We had a rough start, but everyone on Team Ethanol worked hard to turn that around. We have some momentum going, and I think that's part of the reason why we were invited to take part in this test. We're with the top guys in the series. Helio [Castroneves] is here, Tony Kanaan, [Dan] Wheldon and [Scott] Dixon. To be able to run on the track with those guys is a really big deal for us."
Two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Castroneves and 2005 race winner Wheldon drove Indianapolis as part of a Firestone evaluation, running cars fitted with a 2006-model three-litre engine, using an ethanol-methanol fuel blend.
"It's their way to keep up with safety and the development of the race cars," Wheldon said, "The engineers and race teams these days are moving things very fast, and it's important because it is such a competitive series. We're just looking at coming out strong next year.
"I've seen this place be absolutely great to me, and I've seen it wrench my heart from my body. Hopefully, it won't do that again, and this test is a good step for making us competitive for next year."
