After the first two sessions dominated by the former Formula 1 driver Franck Montagny, we should have expected him to be still on top on the last day of the first official Champ Car Spring camp.
Even though it was not the case we were not too far off since a Frenchman also with the first name of Franck occupied the top of the time sheet. But this time it was Perera and he was driving a Conquest Panoz.
Franck Perera, who finished second in last year's Formula Atlantic series, posted a lap of 49.806 seconds, good for first place over the three days of testing. If that was not good enough, his time beat the best recorded time set by four-time series' champion Sébastien Bourdais with the then-new Panoz DP01 at last year's open test of 49.9sec.
Perera outpaced Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing's driver, Graham Rahal, by 0.144 second. The two Atlantic "runner-ups" of the past two seasons were the only drivers to post a time below the 50-second mark.
Finishing in third was Canadian Alex Tagliani driving for PKV Racing. Tagliani hopes that his performance at the test with a quick lap of 50.173 will be enough to allow him to join PKV Racing for the season. His Sebring partner, Spain's Oriol Servia, completed his test fourth fastest overall with a time of 50.178 seconds.
Justin Wilson was fifth with a lap of 50.207 seconds that made him quicker than Forsythe/Pettit's Franck Montagny. Canadian Paul Tracy was a disappointing 11th, beaten by his new teammate Montagny.
The Champ Car World Series will continue its pre-season testing at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca March 13-14.
Final combined test times from Sebring testing
1. Franck Perera, #24 Conquest Racing, 49.806 seconds
2. Graham Rahal, #2 Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing, 49.950 seconds
3. Alex Tagliani, #21 PKV Racing, 50.173 seconds
4. Oriol Servia, #22 PKV Racing, 50.178 seconds
5. Justin Wilson, #1 Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing, 50.207 seconds
6. Franck Montagny, #7 Forsythe/Pettit Racing, 50.209 seconds
7. Bruno Junqueira, #19 Dale Coyne Racing, 50.507 seconds
8. Alex Figge, #29 Pacific Coast Motorsports, 50.521 seconds
9. Simon Pagenaud, #34 Conquest Racing, 50.702 seconds
10. Enrique Bernoldi, #8 Rocketsports Racing, 50.714 seconds
11. Paul Tracy, #3 Forsythe/Pettit Racing, 50.732 seconds
12. David Martinez, #28 Pacific Coast Motorsports, 50.736 seconds
13. Ernesto Viso, #4 Minardi Team USA, 50.800 seconds
14. Mario Moraes, #11 Dale Coyne Racing, 50.930 seconds
Even though it was not the case we were not too far off since a Frenchman also with the first name of Franck occupied the top of the time sheet. But this time it was Perera and he was driving a Conquest Panoz.
Franck Perera, who finished second in last year's Formula Atlantic series, posted a lap of 49.806 seconds, good for first place over the three days of testing. If that was not good enough, his time beat the best recorded time set by four-time series' champion Sébastien Bourdais with the then-new Panoz DP01 at last year's open test of 49.9sec.
Perera outpaced Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing's driver, Graham Rahal, by 0.144 second. The two Atlantic "runner-ups" of the past two seasons were the only drivers to post a time below the 50-second mark.
Finishing in third was Canadian Alex Tagliani driving for PKV Racing. Tagliani hopes that his performance at the test with a quick lap of 50.173 will be enough to allow him to join PKV Racing for the season. His Sebring partner, Spain's Oriol Servia, completed his test fourth fastest overall with a time of 50.178 seconds.
Justin Wilson was fifth with a lap of 50.207 seconds that made him quicker than Forsythe/Pettit's Franck Montagny. Canadian Paul Tracy was a disappointing 11th, beaten by his new teammate Montagny.
The Champ Car World Series will continue its pre-season testing at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca March 13-14.
Final combined test times from Sebring testing
1. Franck Perera, #24 Conquest Racing, 49.806 seconds
2. Graham Rahal, #2 Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing, 49.950 seconds
3. Alex Tagliani, #21 PKV Racing, 50.173 seconds
4. Oriol Servia, #22 PKV Racing, 50.178 seconds
5. Justin Wilson, #1 Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing, 50.207 seconds
6. Franck Montagny, #7 Forsythe/Pettit Racing, 50.209 seconds
7. Bruno Junqueira, #19 Dale Coyne Racing, 50.507 seconds
8. Alex Figge, #29 Pacific Coast Motorsports, 50.521 seconds
9. Simon Pagenaud, #34 Conquest Racing, 50.702 seconds
10. Enrique Bernoldi, #8 Rocketsports Racing, 50.714 seconds
11. Paul Tracy, #3 Forsythe/Pettit Racing, 50.732 seconds
12. David Martinez, #28 Pacific Coast Motorsports, 50.736 seconds
13. Ernesto Viso, #4 Minardi Team USA, 50.800 seconds
14. Mario Moraes, #11 Dale Coyne Racing, 50.930 seconds