Minardi Team USA Fastest in First Day of Testing
Robert Doornbos was quickest today with an unofficial time of 1.17.97. Both he and Dan have just returned from Europe where they spent several days promoting the Champ Car races in Assen and Zolder later this year, but he hasn’t driven since the Portland test earlier this month.
“It is nice to be back in the car after a bit of a break. Obviously the time off is being spent wisely by everyone on the team. The entire engineering staff did a great job crunching data from the Portland test, and it showed today. Mont-Tremblant is a great circuit and a wonderful town. It is very challenging and very fun to drive, and I look forward to tomorrow. As always we will keep pushing to keep improving," told Doornbos.
Dan Clarke had the second fastest lap time of the day at 1.18.10. Following a strong test at Portland, Dan has also made good use of the break in the schedule, rekindling the speed he displayed toward the end of his rookie season last year.
“So it’s not a bad start for us here. We have a full day tomorrow and a lot more testing to be done, but it’s obviously great for all of us to be out in front this first day. We came to grips with the circuit very quickly and were fastest all day. Everyone on the team is really pushing, and it feels good that Minardi Team USA came out on top." told Clarke.
Keith Wiggins, Team Co-Owner
“It’s great that we started out this test the right way, and we were quick right out of the box. Tomorrow is another day, and we obviously hope to continue this trend then. Circuit Mont-Tremblant is a beautiful, challenging track that suits us and our drivers, and we are making progress as a team. We look forward to returning here in June." Team Minardi USA PR