Rahal completes maiden test

The 17-year-old was also pleased to get one over on his father Bobby, who never got to drive for the successful team during his career.

"My dad always told me it was his dream to drive a car for Mr. Newman and Mr. Haas and now I've got a leg up on him," said the Atlantic racer, who has set his sights on a drive with the team next season.

"It's an honour to drive this car, and if I can do the job I hope to be able to drive for the team next year," he said.

However, despite admitting there were several similarities between a Champ Car and the Atlantic he is used to, Rahal is aware that there is still a lot to learn.

"I'm pretty satisfied with my lap times today but I need to pick up speed tomorrow," he said. "I want to do well but at the same time I can't be expected to be as quick as Sebastien and Bruno (Junqueira), I have to build up to it.

"You can't put too much pressure on yourself or you break. I'm just going to keep my head down and stay focused."

Reigning champion Sebastien Bourdais was in attendance during the afternoon to observe the test, where Rahal shared the track with Roberto Moreno, who continued the development work on the 2007 Panoz chassis.