A dozen Firestone Indy Lights drivers successfully completed rookie testing at Homestead-Miami Speedway, clearing the way for them to compete on ovals during the 2009 season.
“All of the rookies ran very smoothly,” said Firestone Indy Lights race director Tony Cotman, who oversaw the rookie testing. “There are some excellent drivers in the group and others that can be as good with additional seat time, but overall it was a very successful test day. I look forward to seeing them in traffic tomorrow.”
Though their goal was to focus on seat time rather than outright speed, Panther Racing’s Pippa Mann topped the speed charts with a lap of 28.4996, 187.592 mph in her No. 16 Panther Racing car.
“It’s one thing to be fast when you are on your own, but I need to run in traffic,” Mann said. “I hope we can get some of that tomorrow when everyone else is on the track tomorrow.”
Brazilian Mario Romancini, testing the No. 5 car for RLR/Andersen Racing was second at 187.380 mph, followed by AFS Racing/Andretti Green Racing’s Sebastian Saavedra (187.069 mph), Panther Racing’s Martin Plowman (186.741 mph) and Guthrie Meyer Racing’s Ali Jackson (186.391 mph).
Seven veteran drivers, plus Canadian rookie James Hinchcliffe, will join the Open Testing session on Feb. 24 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
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