On the same day that a merger between the Champ Car World Series and IndyCar became official, Dan Wheldon posted the quickest time on the opening day of pre-season testing at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Wednesday.
Although a number of Champ Car teams were present for the official press conference announcing the merger, only IndyCar teams hit the track, with 14 drivers in 15 cars taking to the track. With Danica Patrick unwell, team-mate Marco Andretti turned laps in two of the AGR machines.
Target Chip Ganassi Racing ace Wheldon driver topped the speed chart with a lap of 25.0619secs on the 1.5-mile oval on the first of consecutive nights of an IndyCar Series Open Test which put him ahead of team-mate Scott Dixon on the time sheets, with Helio Castroneves slotting into third.
"The team has worked really hard and we seem to be reasonable," Wheldon said. "Looking at today, Helio seems to be the most comfortable in race trim. We've got a little bit of work to do to catch Helio in race trim. When we were out together, he may have started out on new tyres, which would make the difference seem bigger than perhaps what it was. I think the boys on the team have got it under control.
"It's definitely good to be back in the car and getting some laps. It was nice to get in with the paddle shift and see how that was. All in all it was a good job, but we've got some work to do."
Behind the top three, Tony Kanaan was fourth for AGR, with Ryan Briscoe slotted into fifth. AJ Foyt celebrated the announcement that he will drive for Vision Racing by completing the top six.
The test is due to conclude today, after 19 IndyPro Series cars complete a day of running.
Testing times – Homestead Miami Speedway (27 Feb):
1.
Dan Wheldon Target Chip Ganassi Racing
25.0619secs
2.
Scott Dixon Target Chip Ganassi Racing
25.0660secs
3.
Helio Castroneves Team Penske
25.1211secs
4.
Tony Kanaan Andretti Green Racing
25.1227secs
5.
Ryan Briscoe Team Penske
25.2127secs
6.
AJ Foyt IV Vision Racing
25.2179secs
7.
Marco Andretti Andretti Green Racing
25.2465secs *
8.
Hideki Mutoh Andretti Green Racing
25.2476secs
9.
Ed Carpenter Vision Racing
25.2691secs
10.
Buddy Rice Dreyer & Reinbold Racing
25.3716secs
11.
Ryan Hunter-Reay Rahal Letterman Racing
25.3934secs
12.
Vitor Meira Panther Racing
25.3987secs
13.
Marco Andretti Andretti Green Racing
25.4632secs **
14.
Milka Duno Dreyer & Reinbold Racing
25.6276secs
15.
Darren Manning AJ Foyt Enterprises
25.6369secs
