Monterrey circuit popular with drivers

"I quite enjoy the layout," said defending CART champion Gil de Ferran. "The track was not really ready for us to run earlier on today, but they sorted that out by sending some people out to clean the track. Then it became manageable and it was fine. But it's nicely done, it's very, very smooth, and fun to drive. That's good, because I hate bumpy tracks."

De Ferran's Team Penske running mate Helio Castroneves echoed his sentiments.

"Maybe it's not such a high-speed circuit, but it's very fast in terms of steering and shifting gears and such. I'm very happy with it, but unfortunately it was very dirty. It's very difficult to assess changes you make to the car because the track is always getting better."

Team Kool Green's Dario Franchitti said: "It's a fairly interesting track - it's a challenge for sure! The biggest challenge is finding some grip. We just can't get any traction. But this happens with new tracks, and I'm sure it will continue to get better and better with each session. It's a nice facility and the crowd has been fantastic."