source:
crash.net
For the second successive day, Rahal Letterman driver Danica Patrick set the
fastest time as the Indy 500 Rookie Orientation Program drew to a close at
Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Patrick, who completed all four stages of the ROP during the first day of
running, improved her fastest lap to 40.4056secs, 222.741mph ? going quicker
than team-mate Buddy Rice did to secure pole position for the race last season.
"I've had fun these last couple of days, just being able to learn it by myself
before I get out there with everybody else and felt uncomfortable blowing around
in their wind," she said. "I was curious what the orientation was going to be
like, but it's been good. That's what you do at Indy, you just keep trimming it
out. You go faster and you just make sure you're still comfortable, and that's
kind of what the program is.
"Of course there's going to be setup issues that are going to come up along the
way, and we're going to do a little bit here and a little bit there until the
balance is right, but for the most part, Buddy (Rice) and Vitor (Meira) worked
really hard last year and the engineers worked really hard and the car is really
good.
"Basically, I'm driving what they drove last year, and it's actually going
pretty well, so I'm pleased."
Czech driver Tomas Enge also continued to run on the second day despite already
passing ROP and set the second quickest lap time.
"Driving the track for me today felt much better," he said. "This track is so
special and so unique that it can be very difficult for the drivers. So we're
just trying to take it slow in our RockStar Chevy and work our way up to faster
speeds. My ribs still feel the same, but I'm getting comfortable and now we can
start to work on the car. The speeds are getting better, and now I want to get
into the groove of this track."
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