Herbert unfazed after oval test

Herbert ran a 2000-spec Dale Coyne Racing Lola-Ford on the 1.5-mile Northamptonshire track. After limited lapping, he set times quicker than Champ Car regular Alex Barron had run in the early part of the day.

Running the same configuration as Barron, including the mandatory oval-spec Handford Device rear wing, Herbert posted a 198.5mph (27.242s) lap - a British closed-course record - compared to Barron's 195mph (27.690s) benchmark.

Barron set his time on a dirtier track, running data accumulation laps, but is confident that speeds in the region of 203mph will be possible in September.

After his first run, Herbert told Autosport.com: "It's not as scary as everyone says it is, although I'm well aware this isn't a Superspeedway. The nice thing is that you don't have to do the work - the banking does it for you.

"On the whole, I have to say it wasn't that bad. It's not so much the classic style of getting the car into the corner, because the car will do the work for you here.

"You have to be smooth, it's matter of finesse, and I think that suits my style. It's given me a good impression of what Champ Cars and ovals are all about."

After his initial runs, Herbert conducted further testing using a more conventional, low-downforce rear wing.

Despite his promising initial pace, Herbert has ruled out racing at the September 22 debut Champ Car race at the track, saying he would be 'mad' to attempt it without proper testing. Team boss Dale Coyne said he would like to do a deal, however.

"We'd like to be able to put together something for here [Rockingham] and we'd love to be able to do that with Johnny," he said. "That's our goal. We'd like to get together some sponsorship and get him in a car for here, that would be great."

The 37-year-old is looking at a fulltime move into CART or the IRL next year, with the Indy 500 his top priority, regardless of which series he chooses.