Canadian race car drivers Jacques Villeneuve and Alexandre Tagliani experienced mixed fortunes when testing their Nationwide cars at Carolina Motorsport Park near Kershaw in preparation for the NASCAR NAPA Auto Parts 200.
The former Formula 1 World Champion spent two days behind the wheel of the No 32 Toyota Camry Dollar General of Braun Racing, the exact same car he drove in Montreal last year.
“We started off the day with last year’s set-up, but the tires were different,” Jacques Villeneuve told Auto123.com.
“We progressed well during the day and the car ran faster than it did last year, which is promising. On Tuesday afternoon, we made some changes that did not go in the right direction. But overall it went very well. I think we’ll be pretty competitive in Montreal for the race,” he added.
Meanwhile, things did not go as planned for Alex Tagliani.
The IndyCar driver is entered for the Montreal race in the No 81 Dodge Charger of MacDonald Motorsports.
However, the car wasn’t set-up to run on a road course (it was set-up for an oval).
Tagliani managed to complete just five laps around the Kershaw road course.
“It was totally useless to continue to drive. We decided to stop everything and I left the rack to go home,” said a dejected Tagliani.
Alex Tagliani, who’s never competed in a NASCAR Nationwide before will to come to grips with his new environment during the free practice session of the Montreal NAPA 200 event.
photo:René Fagnan - Auto123.com
The former Formula 1 World Champion spent two days behind the wheel of the No 32 Toyota Camry Dollar General of Braun Racing, the exact same car he drove in Montreal last year.
“We started off the day with last year’s set-up, but the tires were different,” Jacques Villeneuve told Auto123.com.
“We progressed well during the day and the car ran faster than it did last year, which is promising. On Tuesday afternoon, we made some changes that did not go in the right direction. But overall it went very well. I think we’ll be pretty competitive in Montreal for the race,” he added.
Meanwhile, things did not go as planned for Alex Tagliani.
The IndyCar driver is entered for the Montreal race in the No 81 Dodge Charger of MacDonald Motorsports.
However, the car wasn’t set-up to run on a road course (it was set-up for an oval).
Tagliani managed to complete just five laps around the Kershaw road course.
“It was totally useless to continue to drive. We decided to stop everything and I left the rack to go home,” said a dejected Tagliani.
Alex Tagliani, who’s never competed in a NASCAR Nationwide before will to come to grips with his new environment during the free practice session of the Montreal NAPA 200 event.
photo:René Fagnan - Auto123.com