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IndyCar
INDYCAR: Barrichello Settling In Quickly At Sebring
Former Formula One driver Rubens Barrichello wasted little time acclimating himself to KV Racing's Dallara DW12-Chevrolet on his first day in an Indy car.
Rubens Barrichello got his first taste of an Indy car Monday morning in Sebring. (Photo: Marshall Pruett)
Former Formula One driver Rubens Barrichello wasted little time acclimating himself to KV Racing's Dallara DW12-Chevrolet during the morning of his first day in an Indy car.
With 19 years of F1 experience to draw from, the 39-year-old Brazilian pulled away smoothly from the makeshift pits at the Sebring short course, running a few exploratory laps in the team's brand-new chassis.
After the team looked over the car, Barrichello returned to the 1.8-mile, 10-turn road course to push the car harder, and told SPEED.com he looked forward to finding its limits later in the day.
"I've only done a few laps," he said, "but it doesn't feel strange or unfamiliar. You don't want to go too hard right away; the engine is different than what I'm used to, but the carbon brakes and things like the hand clutch I'm used to. Overall, it's an interesting change for me. Right now, I'm just seeing how it feels and responds."
Setting a lap time in the mid 54-second range, Barrichello's limited running left him slightly behind his good friend Tony Kanaan, who was fastest in the morning, but Barrichello, as expected, was very impressive and in full command of the car from the outset.
"He's here for two days," said KV co-owner Jimmy Vasser, "and I think we've already seen we'll learn a lot from him on setup and everything else. You can see he'll be right there in no time."
Vasser wouldn't discuss specifics of Barrichello's future with the team, but provided the Brazilian likes the car and is comfortable with it, it's believed that funding is in place for him to run a full season.
Based on initial impressions, it would seem that Barrichello had a favorable opinion of the DW12, which could give the IZOD IndyCar Series a major international star to help boost its profile.
PHOTOS: Click Here or on the image below to view INDYCAR: Sebring Test Jan 30th
Marshall Pruett is SPEED.com's Auto Racing Editor, covering IndyCar and sports cars. He also contributes to Road & Track and Racecar Engineering. Follow him @MarshallPruett on Twitter.
With 19 years of F1 experience to draw from, the 39-year-old Brazilian pulled away smoothly from the makeshift pits at the Sebring short course, running a few exploratory laps in the team's brand-new chassis.
After the team looked over the car, Barrichello returned to the 1.8-mile, 10-turn road course to push the car harder, and told SPEED.com he looked forward to finding its limits later in the day.
"I've only done a few laps," he said, "but it doesn't feel strange or unfamiliar. You don't want to go too hard right away; the engine is different than what I'm used to, but the carbon brakes and things like the hand clutch I'm used to. Overall, it's an interesting change for me. Right now, I'm just seeing how it feels and responds."
Setting a lap time in the mid 54-second range, Barrichello's limited running left him slightly behind his good friend Tony Kanaan, who was fastest in the morning, but Barrichello, as expected, was very impressive and in full command of the car from the outset.
"He's here for two days," said KV co-owner Jimmy Vasser, "and I think we've already seen we'll learn a lot from him on setup and everything else. You can see he'll be right there in no time."
Vasser wouldn't discuss specifics of Barrichello's future with the team, but provided the Brazilian likes the car and is comfortable with it, it's believed that funding is in place for him to run a full season.
Based on initial impressions, it would seem that Barrichello had a favorable opinion of the DW12, which could give the IZOD IndyCar Series a major international star to help boost its profile.
PHOTOS: Click Here or on the image below to view INDYCAR: Sebring Test Jan 30th
Marshall Pruett is SPEED.com's Auto Racing Editor, covering IndyCar and sports cars. He also contributes to Road & Track and Racecar Engineering. Follow him @MarshallPruett on Twitter.
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