Taylor passes rookie test

Taylor, who won the feeder Infiniti Pro Series this year, completed the test at Phoenix International Raceway in Arizona late last week. He ran alongside new team-mate Tomas Scheckter, fellow IPS runner Ed Carpenter, and IRL regular Alex Barron.

"It's obviously good to have my rookie test out of the way," said Taylor. "We had a number of stages to run here in Phoenix during the last two days and they all went smoothly. Today I ran a 60-lap straight run as did Tomas and our times were similar. I'm becoming very comfortable in the car now and can look forward to my first IRL race."

The test, which is compulsory for all new drivers entering the all-oval series, was overseen by IRL vice-president Brian Barnhart.

"Mark performed very well during his rookie test," said Barnhart. "He was very smoth and consistent. The skills he learned on his way to winning the Infiniti Pro Series championship in 2003 have translated to the faster and more powerful IndyCar Series cars."