Chevrolet drivers Sebring Open Test day 3 notes, quotes

Rubens Barrichello Led the Way for Chevrolet in Day One of the Second Round of IZOD IndyCar Series Open Testing at Sebring

Rubens Barrichello, KV Racing Technology Chevrolet

Photo by: Eric Gilbert

SEBRING, Fla (March 8, 2012) – KV Racing Technology’s newest driver, Rubens Barrichello, led the way Chevrolet in first day of the second round of IZOD IndyCar Series testing at Sebring International Raceway. Behind the wheel of the NO. 8 BMC/EMBRASE Chevrolet, Barrichello posted the third-fastest time of the day as the Chevrolet teams continued their preparation for the season-opening event in St. Petersburg, Florida on March 25, 2012.

Barrichello’s teammates E.J. Viso and Tony Kanaan as well as Panther Racing’s JR Hildebrand were also quick, posting times in the top-10 in the final order.

Ed Carpenter turned his first laps with Chevrolet power and concluded the day very satisfied with the progress of team made.

Tomorrow will be the final day of testing at Sebring as the teams prepare for the start of the 2012 season.

THURSDAY IZOD INDYCAR OPEN TEST END-OF-DAY CHEVROLET DRIVER QUOTES:

ED CARPENTER, NO. 20 FUZZY’S ULTRA PREMIUM VODKA CHEVROLET: ON TODAY’S TESTING: “It was a good day. We missed a little time in the first part of the day working some bugs out within the team. But, I had a fairly productive second half of the day. We had a little issue at the end of the day. We were going to do another set of stickers (tires). I thought I could get another chunk of time (on track), but had to call it quits a little bit early to go patch some things up. But, all-in-all, it was a really impressive first day. Definitely happy that I was able to benefit from all the work the other Chevy teams have done. We didn’t have any engine issues. That was nice and made it so I could go out and work on different thing with the teams. So it was a productive first half-day, I’ll call it.”

TONY KANAAN, NO. 11 GEICO/MOUSER ELECTRONICS CHEVROLET: ON TODAY’S TESTING: “It was a difficult day for us. We were struggling a little bit with a couple of things we can’t disclose. But at least we have one car that is really competitive. Days like this we use, especially with three cars, we just separate the duties. Sometimes you get the good part of the duties; sometimes you get the bad part. It was an okay day. We ran all day. We did almost 60 laps. The engine has been very reliable, so that is actually the priority number one I think. Now we need to find some speed. There is still tomorrow and a couple more days that we are going to go test next week. I would say that, although it is frustrating, because you want to be the fastest every time. But, in a positive note, I think we had a no-trouble day, which is very good.”

JR HILDEBRAND, NO. 4 NATIONAL GUARD CHEVROLET: ON TODAY’S TESTING: “We had a pretty good day. We started off and kind of got with the program. Just worked through the changes. We’re still kind of in a mode of trying to learn things about the car. The track here in Sebring, especially when it is an open test like this, our feeling is that it’s not super relevant to other places we go because it is rough like a street course, but it is really grippy like a road course. We’re just running through a list of changes to see what sort of reaction the car has to those things that we can put them in our back pocket to pull out when we need them. All-in-all a good day for the Panther Racing Chevrolet boys. We’ll have a little bit of work to do tomorrow. We’ve got some things to work on, so we are looking forward to it.”

RUBENS BARRICHELLO, NO. 8 BMC/EMBRASE CHEVROLET: TALK ABOUT THE COMMUNICATION DYNAMIC AMONG DRIVERS IN FORMULA ONE VERSUS INDYCAR: “I’ve always been a friend of everyone. Honestly I don’t have trouble getting the habit of that because my habit was already on that side. We are all very competitive drivers. It doesn’t matter the series. We are all very competitive. Having said that, there is something in Europe that it is almost like the bad guy wins. The good guy doesn’t. That is what they say. I completely don’t believe in that. I think you can be very competitive inside the track, but you can have a social relationship out of it. We can meet people that are so different outside and so pleasant. Inside the track they are so different. I found here in the U.S., it is a little bit more you can see that they are very competitive, but they are still pleasant. It is almost like I have a good relationship with Dario (Franchitti). I have always had it, because he can see how much I am close to Tony (Kanaan). It is almost like without talking to him I’m already closer to him, so it feels good. It feels like that is how it should be. That is perfect racing. Wins is the best, but respect for everyone. That is how it should be.”

IS IT GOING TO BE AN OPEN BOOK WITH THE DATA BETWEEN THE THREE DRIVERS ON YOUR TEAM (KV RACING TECHNOLOGY)? “Yes, it is open everything. Now days, if you have telemetry, that have that open data. It is impossible to keep anything from anybody. Tony (Kanaan) had a tough day on his side today because he wasn’t quick. But, not his fault. There was something there that was holding him back terribly. So, we need to share the information and try to get him up to speed. Today it proved to me, it is the second time for me coming to Sebring, I don’t start from zero. It feels good. I know the track. I can go fast and so on.

“When I get to St. Pete, everyone has some data collection in their head from where they are. I will start from zero. That is a little bit of playing catch-up. Some tracks which are brand new, but they come to you. You don’t need to search. ‘Oh, I like this corner. I like this one as well’ and they all come to you. But some tracks, it is a little bit more difficult. So, I have to play the music as it comes.”

WILL YOU BE BACK IN THE CAR BEFORE ST. PETE? “Yes, I hope to be driving tomorrow and I will have another couple of days at Barber (Motorsports Park, Alabama). I am looking forward to that.”

HOW CLOSE ARE THE TWO MANUFACTURERS RIGHT NOW (CHEVROLET AND HONDA)? “I feel it is really difficult (to tell) until we get to the St. Pete qualifying and race to know where everyone is. Everybody’s hanging some card on the sleeves to just waiting to show-up. The time that Scott (Dixon) set this morning was really fast. It was out of the box. It was really, really fast. Faster than anybody around here from the past week and this week. So, they are what they are. I think that I’ll be really happy to be sneaking amongst them. The Team Penske and Target Ganassi are the cars to beat.”

ANA BEATRIZ, NO. 27 ANDRETTI AUTOSPORT CHEVROLET: “It was fun to drive the new car today. It has a lot of grip and I’m still learning about it. I would be great to have another day of testing tomorrow and have a night (to think about it) but it was a great test with Andretti Autosport. I learned a lot today and it will be a great experience to take into the future.”