For a driver who had never so much as stepped in an Atlantic car or even turned a wheel of competition in America only 48 hours earlier, Franck Perera looked every inch the seasoned pro during the final winter test ahead of the 2007 Champ Car Atlantic Championship.

After dominating proceedings on Wednesday when he unofficially shattered the Atlantic track record at Laguna Seca, the Frenchman continued to turn heads on Thursday as the series wrapped up its third and final test session prior to the start of the forthcoming campaign. Testing for Condor Motorsports, Perera staged a day-long fight with series sophomore Raphael Matos of Sierra Sierra Enterprises, swapping fastest times from beginning to end before the former GP2 racer and Toyota Formula 1 Young Driver Programme member ultimately edged out his Brazilian rival by just under two tenths of a second at the Californian circuit.

“It was a good test and we had a really nice fight with Matos all day,” commented the 22-year-old, remarkably still yet to secure a drive in 2007. “The Condor team did a really good job and I think I was getting better with the car all the time.

“My goal is definitely to be in Champ Car and the best way to do that is like (2006 Atlantic champion Simon) Pagenaud did last year – win the Atlantic championship and then move up. I've just got to focus on that and see what happens with the team.”

Should Perera succeed in landing a seat this year, indeed, history is on his side. Pagenaud, a fellow fast Frenchman with a strong European racing background who was also impressive from his very first Atlantic test, claimed the $2 million Atlantic champion's bonus last season and will compete with the Team Australia Champ Car squad in 2007. Another $2 million bonus is available for this year's series champion to graduate to Champ Car.

After finishing second to Perera on Wednesday, sometime A1GP ace Matos again looked threatening on the final day of the test as he raised his game to match the impressive performance of his rookie rival.

“It's been two days of good battles on the track,” the25-year-old said. “We definitely made some progress today, especially in the afternoon session when we were able to find at least three or four tenths in our car. It was definitely a positive test and I think the Sierra Sierra team is ready for the start of the season.”

While the fight for the top time of the test was compelling, the other Atlantic competitors also demonstrated a strong turn of speed as the leading six drivers all posted laps below the official track record of 1:16.986 (104.653 mph), recorded by A.J. Allmendinger back in 2003.

Monterey-born PR1 Motorsports driver Jonathan Bomarito came on strong in the final session of the day to claim the third-fastest time at his home track.