Unser Jr relishing IRL challenge

The double Indianapolis 500 winner will make his IRL debut next month having completed 273 CART races.

After completing his first two days of testing in the new Galles ECR Racing G Force/Aurora/Firestone at Phoenix International Raceway, Unser is looking forward to the coming season.

'I just need everybody to know I'm a rookie and to be on the lookout for me,' he joked.

'I'm hoping they're all in my rearview mirror and I don't have to study them at all.'

Unser did a lot of studying during his two-day session at the 1-mile desert oval where he has driven a CART car on many occasions.

It was a learning session as Unser drove a normally aspirated Indy Racing car for the first time.

The G Force chassis, the 3.5-litre engine and Firestone tyres all are new to him, but Unser was pleased with yesterday's test.

'The first day felt really good,' he said.

'I had competitive times and the car ran flawlessly.'

Unser completed 205 laps during the session, with a best lap of 21.2 seconds, 169.811 mph.