De Ferran escapes Phoenix test crash

Just ten minutes before the end of the test, the Brazilian lost control of his Penske-run Reynard-Honda on the exit of Turn Two. De Ferran spun into the wall sideways, but was able to extract himself from the wreckage, suffering bruises to his left leg and foot.

"The car started to go wide, so I kept my boot in it," he told Speedvision.com. "I did a 360, then another 180, and then the front slapped sideways. I'm all right. Just a little bump, I guess you could call it. I banged my knees together and left leg against the car pretty good, so it's bruised and sore."

De Ferran's running had already been affected by a blown engine, after which he lapped in 21.2 seconds before crashing. Kenny Brack (Rahal Lola-Ford) was reckoned to be fastest of those present, dipping into the 20secs bracket along with Cristiano da Matta's Toyota-powered Newman-Haas Lola.

De Ferran wasn't the only Brazilian in the wars as rookie Bruno Junqueira hit the wall on an oval for the first time at Las Vegas on Tuesday. A mechanical problem caused his Target/Ganassi Lola-Toyota to spin and hit the wall between Turns Three and Four.

"Bruno was released with no complications after an inspection by CART's Lon Bromley," said Ganassi's managing director Mike Hull. "We've had great luck avoiding trouble on the track so far in our tests, but the drivers and the team know this is part of racing. Thanks to Champ Car's high degree of safety and the HANS device, by the end of the day, Bruno was already preparing for his next test."

"Even with the problem at the end of end of the day, I was very happy with how we ran today," said Junqueira. "I really liked this oval."