With the series still reeling from the death of Paul Dana despite the fact that the paddock in St Petersburg is already ready for the IRL IndyCar transporters, Vision Racing have announced that popular Brazilian veteran Roberto Moreno will replace the injured Ed Carpenter for this weekend's Florida street race. source: crash.net The 47 year-old Moreno will bring a much needed smile to the IRL paddock during what will be a somewhat surreal weekend and should be on the pace after assisting Carpenter at both the Infineon Raceway and Watkins Glen last year. Carpenter, who was released from hospital on Monday with a bruised lung, has still not been cleared to rejoin his Vision Racing team. Moreno, who was competing at the Homestead-Miami Speedway last weekend as a substitute driver in the Grand Am Rolex Series, tested Carpenter's #20 Dallara-Honda on Tuesday at the 2.21-mile Homestead road course. "Yesterday's test was good," Moreno said. "I impressed myself and how quickly I got into the pace. IndyCars are quite tough, but I suddenly realised how quickly I was able to rely on my experience to get the car up to the pace." Moreno said he was buoyed by the support of team co-owners Tony and Laura George, team manager Larry Curry and Carpenter. "It is very tough to replace a driver and it is very difficult to just jump in a car and drive," he said. "I was glad to be able to get in the car a little bit already this week. Plus, road racing is what I know so I hope that get the car up to speed quickly this weekend and get good results. While I know road course racing, I'm not as confident about the car, but the team will give me the info that I need to be competitive and comfortable in the car. The guys I will be racing against are very competitive so it will be a tough weekend." Moreno is seeking sponsorship to compete in at least the 90th Indianapolis 500. "My ideal situation for the rest of the season is to find a ride for Indy and the other two road courses," he said. "I've been seeking sponsorships and meeting with teams to try and be able to do that."
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