MONTEREY, Cal.--Rookie driver Sebastien Bourdais
proved that he has a flair for the dramatic in the first day of Champ Car open
testing Saturday at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.
source: CART.com Despite experiencing mechanical problems during most of the day while testing for the 2002 Champ Car World Series champion Newman/Haas Racing team, Bourdais put together a blistering run on his final lap of the day to post the unofficial fastest time of 70.154 seconds (114.845 miles per hour). The 23-year-old Bourdais, the reigning FIA International F3000 Champion who has not yet been signed to compete for Newman/Haas Racing in the 2003 Bridgestone Presents The Champ Car World Series Powered by Ford, recorded the top time among the 12 drivers from nine Champ Car teams testing over the two-day period at Laguna Seca. "You certainly don't expect to come out here as a rookie and be quick, but we ran well while testing at Sebring (last week) and it is only a test," said Bourdais. "This is why I came to the U.S. to race in Champ Cars. You want the opportunity to succeed and drive for the best team." A crowd of 1,600 fans turned out to witness testing on a sunny day at the picturesque 2.238-mile Northern California road circuit, which will host the Grand Prix of Monterey Champ Car event June 13-15 this summer. The crowd enjoyed a familiar site at Laguna Seca--a dominant performance by the two Newman/Haas Champ Cars. While Bourdais owned the top time, he had to edge out teammate Bruno Junqueira who had the second-fastest lap of 70.195 seconds (114.777 mph) and sat atop the scoring charts for most of the afternoon before the late run by Bourdais. The Newman/Haas machines paced Spring Training testing last year at Laguna Seca and 2002 Champ Car World Series champion Cristiano da Matta led a 1-2 Newman/Haas sweep last June at the facility's Champ Car event.
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