Newman Haas Lanigan Racing entered the post-
Sebastien Bourdais era near the top of the Champ Car World Series time-sheets after Graham Rahal posted the second quickest of the two and half day test session at Sebring.
Like most of the drivers in action, Rahal left it until the final day to post his quickest time, breaking the 50 second marker to finish just over a tenth of a second behind Conquest Racing's Franck Perera a result the teenager hadn't expected going into the test.
I certainly didn't expect to be as far up asnwe are but I'm definitely happy about it, he said. I tend to struggle at this track specifically.
As a team we made a lot of leaps forward in car development and we've got a good idea of what we need to accomplish in the next tests and during the season. Justin and I certainly work well together. We like similar car set-ups which helps a lot.
Team-mate Justin Wilson celebrated his first test since being confirmed as Bourdais' replacement by posting the fifth quickest time, four tenths further back on the timesheets.
Having completed nearly 270 laps, the Briton declared himself happy with the session and said he hoped to make progress as the field heads to Laguna Seca for the next test.
I'm very pleased with the way the test has gone, he said. The team has worked hard to make me comfortable in the car and it feels good. I'm not sure how relevant the results of this test in Sebring will be but we learned some things to build on.
We did well here and stayed disciplined and hopefully learned some things that will help us be competitive this season. I'm looking forward to building on our program at the next test at Laguna Seca.
