Papis eager for night race challenge

The Italian made his return to the Champ Car World Series with PK Racing after a year on the sidelines at the last race in Portland, and reckons that his recent experience of competing in the Le Mans 24 Hours will give him an advantage when it comes to racing in the dark.

"It was a great surprise for me to hear that we were going racing under the lights, because I didn't know that we were racing at night at Cleveland," confessed Papis. "When I found out, I said 'this is pretty cool'. I am one of the few guys that have experience driving a car at night at speed, having just run in the 24 Hours of Le Mans where you actually drive quite a long time at night."

Unlike the Circuit de la Sarthe, the temporary track on the runway's of Burke Lakefront Airport will be fully illuminated, although Papis is still expecting a tough challenge.

"Even though there is good lighting at this track, it is still going to be very, very difficult for a number of reasons. One thing I've noticed is that you have reflections in the mirrors, and that's something that distracts you quite a bit because you are not used to seeing the car behind you in the way that you are going to see it at night time.

"The other big factor will be the depth perception; it's going to be pretty different at night. Of course, the lights are going to be up and it will be as close as you can have it to daylight, but the difference that it makes is that everything seems farther away from you and I think that it makes things quite difficult."