©2000 SpeedCenter Publishing
Sebring, Florida, December 21, 2000 Results were positive on a number of fronts as Team Player's and driver Alex Tagliani went through their first off-season practice session this week, with Tagliani putting in about 100 laps on the 1.65-mile Sebring road course at the wheel of the new 2001 Reynard Champ Car.
“Despite the rather chilly weather conditions, we were able to put in two productive days,” related Tagliani, who shared the track with the Penske, Newman-Haas and Zakspeed teams. “We tried out new brake discs and pads and that worked out well. We ran with different variations on the set-up and did some differential work. We didn't put that much emphasis on the speed because with the temperatures being as cold as they were, we weren't able to get the tires warmed up enough.”
It was Tagliani's first appearance on a race track since the final race of the FedEx CART Championship season in Fontana several weeks ago. Tagliani had sustained neck and back injuries following an incident near the end of the race.
“My injuries have completed healed,” said Tagliani. “I was a bit worried about this first session since the accident, but I was pleasantly surprised because there was absolutely no soreness. I was able to do everything that I wanted to do.”
Team Player's manager, Canadian-born Phil LePan, said it was extremely important to take full advantage of this week's two-day testing session, particularly because new regulations adopted by the CART series limit the number of testing days per driver to 10 during the off-season.
“You really have to make good use of the time you're allotted, and I think that's an incentive for everyone to pull together,” remarked LePan. “The two-day session was a learning process and a period of adjustment, but everyone was enthusiastic. We came out of the session with a sense of excitement already about the new season.”
Following a brief respite for the holiday season, Team Player's gets right back to work early in the new year, as Patrick Carpentier puts in his first off-season laps at a two-day testing session on the Firebird, Arizona road course on January 5-6.
