Plainfield, IL (January 27, 2017) – Sebastien Bourdais was the quickest of the drivers present at a two-day Sebring International Raceway test this week. The four-time open-wheel Champion was making his first outing of 2017 with the team in preparation for the upcoming season.
Bourdais was focused on gathering as much data as possible as the team worked through their testing plan, evaluating different changes to the car.
“Over the two days we got some really good reads on basic fundamental changes and that’s really important. Basically, we’re trying to build a book of feedback – ‘if I have this problem, then we do this or that to fix it ,’ – that type of thing. And I think we’ve gotten really good answers on issues that Olivier and I were trying to figure out for most of last year.
“And the great thing is, we’re not really having to change a lot from what we had,” continued the Frenchman. “By the end of the day it all worked out, the car felt really nice and very balanced so we can be really pleased with that.”
Rookie Ed Jones (pictured) was making his first appearance with Dale Coyne Racing and his second aboard an Indy car. The 21 year-old used the test to get up to speed and get comfortable with his new surroundings.
“It was my first ever test at Sebring so there was a lot of learning to do. I did the most laps of anyone, and I feel happy with how the test went. I made a lot of progress. We’re not permitted to do a lot of pre-season testing so we need to make it count.
“As well as all the laps, I also practiced pit stops, and was getting myself totally familiar with the controls in the car. It was a lot of stuff to learn, and quite mentally draining to do all in one day,” added Jones.
The team deemed the two-day test a productive and successful one and are looking forward to taking to the Phoenix International Raceway track for their first oval test of the year on February 10 and 11.
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