"It was good to get a feel for the car and the team, and to get to work with my engineer," the Brazilian commented. "We lost a lot of time on day one, but we still did a good job overall. The guys did excellent work to get us here and we didn't have any problems. The Dallara is fun to drive – it doesn't have as much power as what I am used to, but I enjoyed it. There is still room for improvement, but this was a good first test.”

Perera, meanwhile, lapped consistently in the #34 ARES car, trying to find the limit of the Dallara in familiar road course surroundings.

“I didn't really know what to expect coming into the test, but I am happy with the end result,” the Frenchman said. "Once we were able to get some track time in, things were good, and I was able to learn a lot about the car. I pushed a little too hard at times and made some mistakes, but overall it was a good experience. I can't wait to test this car on an oval next week.”

The Homestead test runs for two days over 24-25 March.