Firstly, BIG apologies for not having written for a long time. It's been a strange start to the year, even though we have been testing and racing almost since 2007 began, and there is quite a bit to catch up on.
It's been quiet the last six weeks or so since Houston, I've not done too much so I'm really looking forward to getting back in the race car. As you will all be aware, I've moved from PKV Racing to Dale Coyne Racing this year, and there has been a lot to get used to.
Now that I've driven it so much, it's hard to try and compare the new Panoz DP01 to the old Lola Champ Car, but it felt a little more stable on the rear end and, obviously, you don't have to take your hands off the wheel with the new paddleshift, which is good. It didn't take too much getting used to, as it felt quite natural, but it was still, all-round, a different car to get your head around.
The first test went really, really well. It was a new car for us, but the gremlins didn't start until a little later on, and the first test was relatively worry-free. It was a fun car to drive, a different experience. Eventually, we started to have some gearshift problems, and one thing led to another, but that is what pre-season testing is for for everybody - to get rid of any issues. Touch wood, we seem to have mostly done that now.
The new car seems to have opened things up too, although the top teams seem to be the same as they were last year, probably because of the amount of money they have to spend and the engineering staff that they have and so on. Dale Coyne Racing is a relatively low-budget team, but hopefully we can get some sponsors on board and change that around by doing more testing and development that will help us move up the grid.
