"The wind made it difficult to make small changes on the car, so it was hard to get a feel for how good your car was," Barron concurred, "Overall, though, the Chevy engine was very strong and, with all of the development they have been doing on the new three-litre engine, we're confident with their power going into the month of May."
Kosuke Matsuura proved to be the second fastest rookie on day one, taking eighth spot for
Super Aguri Fernandez Racing.
"Today was very, very windy, but we found a very good set-up, dynamics and mechanical balance," the Japanese driver reported, "We improved by two miles per hour from the day before yesterday, so I am very happy about that. This track is very difficult, with the wind directions always changing, and this morning was quite cold, but I'm learning to adjust to the various track conditions."
'Team-mate' Adrian Fernandez was down in 19th spot, six places behind former Champ Car rival Bruno Junqueira, who was confirmed in the Newman/Haas entry just days before the test began.
"We are just learning about the car, but I am pleased with our results today," the Brazilian commented, "We didn't run very much this morning, but were able to put in more laps in the afternoon and, by the end of the day, the car had a good balance. For sure, we were probably running more downforce than most teams, but we are taking things step-by-step. We were able to run consistent lap times, and the balance of the car was good."
Motegi winner Dan Wheldon was the best of the three Andretti Green cars on show, taking tenth spot compared to 17th and 20th for Bryan Herta and Dario Franchitti. Tony Kanaan did not run.
"I wouldn't say it was a difficult day, but it just didn't perhaps go the way we wanted it to," Wheldon admitted, "But, if you panic too much at this place, you can get yourself wound up. We're not even into May yet. We don't have any issues, and the good thing is we tried some different things on some different cars, and we have a direction."
