The diverse worldwide racing series that spawned the members of the 2006 Champ Car rookie class took them to some of the world's great tracks, but rarely included racing on any ovals. source: champcarworldseries.com But in the Bridgestone Presents The Champ Car World Series Powered by Ford, drivers must master a number of different circuit types if they are to challenge for titles. This year's lineup includes one of the country's oldest and trickiest oval tracks in the Milwaukee Mile, where the Champ Cars will do battle on June 4, and today most of the rookie class got a chance to experience life in a circle for the first time. "It was pretty impressive," said reigning Champ Car Atlantic titleholder Charles Zwolsman. "After today, I have a lot more respect for the guys that race on ovals, it's definitely not as easy at it looks. I took it easy at first to get used to the track and the more laps I put in, the more confident and comfortable I felt. We accomplished everything we wanted to do today and now I am ready for the real test in June. With more traffic on the track, it will be a whole new experience, but I am looking forward to it." Mi-Jack/Conquest Racing's Zwolsman joined Team Australia rookie Will Power, CTE Racing - HVM's newbie Dan Clarke and new Rocketsports signee Nicky Pastorelli in their first oval testing sessions, running on the mile oval on the grounds of Wisconsin State Fair Park. "This was my first time on an oval so it definitely was a different feel." said Power. "We came here to learn how to do well on an oval. This morning was more of a test to get a feel for the track; I got a better grip on the speed and of how to drive smoothly on an oval course. After lunch I was able to push harder, and make changes to the car to make drive it more consistently. We ran on 2 sets of tires, so it wasn't a massive test, but enough to get a good start for the race in June. It was a very good worthwhile test, and now I know."
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