INDYCAR: Series Sets Five Days Of Spring Training At Sebring

IndyCar

INDYCAR: Series Sets Five Days Of Spring Training At Sebring

The IZOD IndyCar Series is headed to Florida for a five-day open test at Sebring International Raceway between March 5-9.

Marshall Pruett | Posted January 06, 2012

The majority of the IndyCar paddock will come together at Sebring for its first group test the week before the famed 12-hour sports car event. (LAT)

The IZOD IndyCar Series is headed to Florida for a five-day open test at Sebring International Raceway between March 5-9 for spring training, giving teams, manufacturers and the media a chance to prepare for the season opener later in the month at St. Petersburg.

An informal pre-season test had been held at recent years at Barber Motorsports Park, but the switch to Sebring's warmer climate will serve as a nice change of pace.

Although extensive testing will take place prior to the Sebring event, it will represent the first opportunity for most teams to run together at the same time.

INDYCAR will split the test into three phases, with half of the IndyCar teams running Monday and Tuesday, the Firestone Indy Lights Series taking over on Wednesday and the second group of IndyCar teams completing the test Thursday and Friday.

Teams will use Sebring's short course throughout the test, and upon its completion, the American Le Mans Series will load in and start testing for the 12 Hours of Sebring which takes place the following week.

Monday Testing Schedule (all times Eastern):
Teams: Andretti Autosport, Dale Coyne Racing, Dreyer & Reinbold Racing, Dragon Racing, HVM Racing, Team Penske, Sam Schmidt Motorsports
9-Noon Open Testing
1-5 Open Testing

Tuesday
Teams: Andretti Autosport, Dale Coyne Racing, HVM Racing, Team Penske, Sam Schmidt Motorsports.
9-Noon Open Testing
1-4 Open Testing

Thursday
Teams: A.J. Foyt Racing, Bryan Herta Autosport, Ed Carpenter Racing, Target Chip Ganassi Racing, Service Central Chip Ganassi Racing, Novo Nordisk Chip Ganassi Racing, KV Racing Technology, Panther Racing, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, MSR Indy.
9-Noon Open Testing
1-5 Open Testing

Friday
Teams: A.J. Foyt Racing, Target Chip Ganassi Racing, Service Central Chip Ganassi Racing, Novo Nordisk Chip Ganassi Racing, KV Racing Technology, Panther Racing, Rahal Letterman Lanigan.
9-Noon Open Testing
1-4 Open Testing

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.