Champ Car Atlantic rookie of the year Franck Perera has completed a two-day test with the newly named Forsythe/Pettit Racing team at MSR Houston as he looks ahead to the 2008 campaign.

Perera was able to quickly get up to speed on his run at the wheel of the Panoz DP01 chassis on his first morning in the car. Over the course of the two days, the team was then able to gather extremely productive suspension, braking and aerodynamic data through a battery of testing procedures in preparation for next season.

"I want to thank the entire team for everything, especially Mr. Forsythe and Mr. Pettit for giving me this chance," he said. "The Atlantic Cars are great, but being in a Champ Car is why I came from Europe to America to race. It was really fun to be in a fast car again like the F1 and to help Tom Brown and all the engineers prepare the car for next season.

"I was also glad to show that I was very competitive compared to the testing here last February and I wanted to go even faster for sure, but in the end the team was here to test the car and I stuck to the plan."

Technical director Tom Brown was also happy with how the test had gone, stating that the rookie had done everything that was asked of him without problems.

"Over the two days of running, we laid out some very stringent tests and performance requirements for Franck," he said. "Running flawlessly both days, it was extremely encouraging that Franck met and exceeded each requirement set for him. He is a consummate professional with a rare touch and feel for the car."