INDYCAR: Barber Test Update, Monday

IndyCar

INDYCAR: Barber Test Update, Monday

A.J. Foyt's Mike Conway tops Monday for Honda, Penske's Will Power leads Chevy and Dario Franchitti emerges unhurt after ending his day against the Turn 1 barrier.

Marshall Pruett | Posted February 20, 2012

A.J. Foyt Racing's Mike Conway and his engineer Don Halliday are settling in quickly with the storied team. (Photo: LAT)

Cold ambient temperatures delayed serious running at Alabama's Barber Motorsports Park until the latter half of Monday's activities, and by the end of the day, A.J. Foyt's Mike Conway led the nine-car test with a 1:10.7-second lap for Honda.

Team Penske's Will Power sat atop the unofficial time sheets amongst the Chevrolet brigade with a 1:11.2-second lap in his Dallara DW12-Chevrolet. The Aussie earned pole position for the race last April in the previous generation Indy car with a lap of 1:11.4.

“We had a really good day of testing yesterday,” said Larry Foyt. “It was a lot of long nights of hard work to get ready for this test as all the teams are trying to figure out this new car as quickly as they can. Our guys did a really good job as the ABC Supply car ran well all day. I love the communication going on right now between the driver and the engineers. Mike was really smart, pushed the car to where it needed to be but didn’t go over that fine line. We made some good changes and learned a lot about the car.”

Dario Franchitti went off at Barber's fast Turn 1, will will be back on track Tuesday morning. (Photo: LAT)

Power was just as positive about his efforts during an abbreviated test day.

“It felt great today,” Power told SPEED.com. “Tires obviously make a lot of difference. I’ve done a [1:0]9.2 here before a few years ago, but you can really only compare based on what tires you’re on, I guess. We didn’t turn a lot of laps--I didn’t get out until later in the afternoon--but you can feel that everything is continually improving with the car, the engine--everything.”

Reigning champion Dario Franchitti had his day end in a less fulfilling manner as the Scot had an off at Turn 1 in his Honda-powered Target Chip Ganassi Racing entry.

A combination of new tires, a cool track and the rush of turbo power snapped his car sideways, sending his Dallara skating into the wall with the right side of the car.

Franchitti told SPEED.com he was unhurt in the crash, and that his mechanics were able to affect quick repairs to have the car ready for Tuesday, the final day of running at Barber.

Scott Dixon fared better than his teammate, but didn’t get in much running as the team overcame a few issues and also spent time converting his car over from the standard suspension to try the updated a-arms produced by Dallara to alleviate some of the DW12’s excessive rear weight bias.

Justin Wilson got to push his new Dallara DW12-Honda for the first time on Monday. (Photo: LAT)

“I got in about an hour on the new suspension towards the end of the day,” said the Kiwi. “I think the big difference on the new suspension will be seen on the ovals. On the road course, it still feels like you want more weight on the front of the car, but we’ll keep working with it to see what we can learn tomorrow.”

Justin Wilson got the chance to turn his first meaningful laps in Dale Coyne's Dallara DW12-Honda, and reportedly came within a half-second of Power's best lap.

“We got about 50 laps in and make a little bit of progress,” said Wilson. “There’s obviously a lot of work to do to make it into something that suits my style. It’s an interesting puzzle to try and understand this new car.”

The Formula One, Champ Car and IndyCar Series veteran said he’s trying to apply all of his experience to help the Coyne team find its way to the car’s sweet spot as quickly as possible.

“It’s got a lot of downforce, and we all know about the weight distribution issues, so we’re just looking at how to work with what it does well and to find solutions for areas that can be improved,” he said. “It has a lot of mid-corner understeer right now, and we’re just looking for a way to help cure that without hurting the tires. Working with [DCR engineer] Bill Pappas again is great; it’s like we’ve just resumed where we left off in 2009, so I’m sure we’ll get the car sorted before long.”

PHOTOS: Click Here or on the image below to view INDYCAR: Barber Test February 2011