Briscoe tops Homestead test

The Australian, who has switched to the American series after seeing his Formula 1 ambitions frustrated by financial reasons, moved to the top of the timesheets in the final minute of action to just pip reigning champion Tony Kanaan.

"It doesn't mean much, but it does mean we're looking good to start with," said Briscoe, who only signed for Chip Ganassi Racing earlier this week.

"For a car that's never raced on a circuit before, it's doing quite well," he said. "I think we've got a lot to gain still. There's still a lot of improvement to put on the car. But as a starting point, it's really good. It's responsive to set-up changes. It's easy to get a good balance.

"It's a good track to be driving around. It seems like the speed is there, so we'll keep going."

Behind Kanaan were his Andretti Green Racing team-mates Dario Franchitti and Dan Wheldon, with Ganassi's Darren Manning fifth fastest.

Kanaan, who completed 40 laps around the road-course circuit, admitted that a limited testing programme had hampered his progress.

"With this being the first day of the test, most of your time is spent trying to get comfortable with the placement of the pedals and the car in general," he said.

"Team 7-Eleven has a good car. We had the basic first-day troubles, but nothing serious. I didn't get to run as many laps as I would have liked, but if I'd had my way I would have run all day."