Junqueira fastest in open test

By Flagworld (Auto123.com),

Tuesday, January 28, 2003

Page 1 of 2
Previous
1
2
Next

Carpentier third again

source: CART.com

After completing two full days of open testing at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca Bruno Junqueira of Newman/Haas Racing feels the 2003 Bridgestone Presents The Champ Car World Series Powered by Ford season is getting off on the right foot--or more precisely, the left foot.

The 26-year-old Junqueira recorded the top time among all drivers who tested over the weekend at Mazda Raceway with a lap of 69.172 seconds (116.475 miles per hour) in Sunday's afternoon session. The Brazilian emerged in either the first or second position in three out of the four testing sessions over the weekend and the impressive performance came as he spent the entire test trying to adjust his driving style.

"I've always raced while braking with my right foot," said Junqueira. "This year, I'm trying to learn to brake with my left foot. I struggled a bit with it (on Saturday) morning, but I'm getting used to it. It may be a small thing, but small things can win races."

Junqueira's unofficial time proved how competitive the new Champ Car racing package will be in 2003 as the mark actually bested the pole-winning time set by Champ Car World Series champion Cristiano da Matta for the Newman/Haas team in last June's event at Laguna Seca (da Matta's pole time was 69.473 seconds).

"For sure, the team has a good setup here," added Junqueira, who joins Newman/Haas Racing this season after finishing second to da Matta in the race for the Vanderbilt Cup in 2002. "I'm learning a lot about working with the team and we were consistently fast all weekend. This gives us some confidence heading into the year, but it will be a long season."