All four Acura teams have completed a day of running at Miller Motorsports Park ahead of the latest round of the American Le Mans Series at the Utah venue later this month.
Andretti-Green Racing, Lowe's Fernandez Racing and Patrón Highcroft Racing were joined for the day long test by the new de Ferran Motorsports team for a day spent testing Michelin tyre compounds, aerodynamic and suspension settings and engine management settings in advance of the race.
For de Ferran Motorsports, owned for former Indy 500 winner Gil de Ferran, the test continued preparations for its debut race where de Ferran will be joined at the wheel by Frenchman Simon Pagenaud.
"It's hard to imagine that just a few months ago this was just a conversation," de Ferran said. "We still have a lot of preparation to go through. We still are getting used to running the car and so on and so forth.
“I'm having a great time, not only behind the wheel, but also outside of the cockpit. It's been a really fun project.”
Christian Fittipaldi was on duty for Andretti-Green Racing, and was able to bring the experience gleaned from having driven
Daytona Prototypes at Miller Motorsports Park for the past two years in the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series.
“These cars are very quick in the corners,” he said. “There is a lot of downforce compared to the Grand-Am cars. They're a lot quicker. They have very similar speed on the straightaway, but in the corners you're braking a lot deeper, you're carrying a lot more speed and pulling a lot more lateral g's than you do in the Grand-Am cars. When I went out today, in the first couple of laps I said, ‘Wow, these cars brake really late and go really quick through all the corners!'”
Patrón Highcroft Racing comes into the Utah Grand Prix on a roll, having scored its first win in the previous round at the Long Beach Grand Prix and Scott Sharp admitted it was important to keep the ball rolling at Miller in an effort to take the fight to the Penske Porsches.
