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IRL car impresses Carpentier

Patrick Carpentier says he was pleasantly surprised by his first experience of an IRL IndyCar following his initial test with his new Red Bull Cheever Racing team last week. The French-Canadian put the Toyota-powered Dallara through its paces on the Sebring road course on December 13-15 as well as the Homestead oval last Friday, and reckoned the car measured up pretty respectably compared to the Champ Cars he has campaigned for the last eight seasons

"At first I was sceptical about how the IndyCar would perform on a road course," admitted Carpentier, "but as soon as I got a feel for the car it proved me wrong. It was smooth in the corners and over the bumps, and I was not expecting that. The braking was a little different, but it handled well and accelerated well - there's a couple of things that need to be adjusted here and there, but overall I really enjoyed it."

Carpentier was joined at Sebring by Cheever Racing team-mate Alex Barron, Target Chip Ganassi Racing's Scott Dixon and Darren Manning and the Marlboro Team Penske duo of Helio Castroneves and Sam Hornish Jr in a Toyota manufacturer's test. The track time was especially valuable to the Red Bull-backed team, which recently switched engine suppliers from Chevrolet to Toyota.

Carpentier reiterated his enthusiasm about rediscovering ovals, a discipline in which he has always thrived but which increasingly became marginalised in Champ Cars in recent years as the series focused on increasing its presence at city-centre street tracks.

"Two nights before we tested at Homestead, I was too excited," he said. "At 11:30 at night I was still awake because I was so happy to come to the series where there are mostly ovals. When I finally got into the car, I was like, 'Oh yeah! This is what I remember.'

"I'm sure it will be different with a big pack of cars, but it was still a great experience. I can't imagine what it will be like at a track like Richmond where it's only three-quarters of a mile [around]. It must be crazy!"

Carpentier's next outing in the car will be at the IRL open test at Homestead on January 19-22. The 2005 season kicks off at the Floridian venue on March 6.

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