Klien Enjoys First Indianapolis Outing

Jaguar driver Christian Klien enjoyed his first outing at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway as he drove to the 16th quickest time in Friday's practice for the United States Grand Prix.

"I'm happy to be here," admitted the Austrian, making his Grand Prix debut this year. "I first have to learn the circuit. The first session was really slippery. There was no grip on the track, every car was sliding, pretty much. It's getting better and better. I'm happy with the car.

"It gets better as I learn the circuit. It's fun to drive here. There are long straightaways, and the banking is new to me. The infield is quite tricky to drive, all quite slow-speed corners, but it is fun to drive."

Klien, still chasing his first Formula One points this year, finished five places behind his Australian teammate Mark Webber, who was the quickest of the Jaguar trio. Test driver Bjorn Wirdheim finished 15th.

"My practice this afternoon was a good one," said Webber. "We went through the program we wanted to go through. The tyre program worked out pretty good for us, and we have a lot of data to go over tonight.

"We will see how it goes; we have to find a little more speed, But it's all going OK. We're pretty happy so far."