Graham Rahal wrapped up two days of testing in Portland, Oregon this week with the Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing team, recording second fastest lap time on each of the two days of running.
The team began testing on Tuesday, 1 May, at the Portland International Racing, a 1.964 mile permanent road course, and the venue for the fourth round of the Champ Car World Series which takes place next month. After the first day of running Rahal shadowed two-times Champ Car champion, Sebastian Bourdais, just three-tenths off his team mate with a 57.4 seconds lap. With persistent rain on the second day the team opted not to run and resumed testing on Thursday. Rahal was quickest of the drivers at Portland for much of the day, with Bourdais stealing the top spot late in the session, pipping the Ohio racer by less than two tenths of a second.
Medi I Zone driver Rahal is familiar with the Portland track, having raced there in the Atlantics Series. He said of the Champ Car test, “It went really well for us and we were easily as competitive as Sebastian. We can run up front and turn very impressive times, and with plenty of grip it was great to drive and I’m really happy with our two days. We only had one run on new tyres and Sebastian had a couple more, so that’s given me the confidence to know that we have the car and the package to challenge him.
It’s quite a physical track and gives you quite a work out, but I’m very fit and prepared enough. We didn’t run in the wet on Wednesday as our testing miles are limited, there’s an added element of risk in these conditions and as I felt very comfortable, it was the best option for us. “Now I have a few weeks away from the race track and it’s time to focus on school again. Of course I’ll still be training hard and preparing for the next Champ Car race, but education is the priority for the immediate future. ”
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