Homestead, Fla. — With CART's second annual Spring Training at Homestead, Fla., one week away and the 1997 PPG Cup season opener only five weeks away, Team Alumax and new driver Patrick Carpentier have been busy getting ready by testing.

Carpentier has logged 842 miles in the Team Alumax Reynard/Mercedes-Benz in test sessions at Sebring International Raceway and the Metro-Dade Homestead Motorsports Complex, the site of the season-opening Marlboro Grand Prix of Miami on March 2. In the case of Homestead, it marked the first time Carpentier had driven an Indy car on an oval. He found the experience enjoyable.

"I raced at Homestead last year in the Player's/Toyota Atlantic Championship, but they used part of the infield road course and part of the oval," said Carpentier, who finished third in that race en route to the Atlantic title. "Obviously, the Indy cars are much faster than the Atlantics and this was the first time I had ever gone 200 miles an hour in a race car.

"Fortunately, they (the team) gave me a good car and because of that, I felt comfortable. If the car had not been good, I think it would have been a long two days."

Tom Brown, the chief engineer and managing director of the team, was pleased with Carpentier's first Indy-car ride on an oval.

"This was basically a driver acquaintance run with an Indy car," Brown said. "It was very successful. Patrick recorded a time in the low 30-second range, which was our goal. We had a lot of push built into the car for the test. Patrick was very confident and that's good. When we test there next for spring training, there will be time to free up the car."

Carpentier also made his third visit to Sebring and wound up going quicker than his previous two trips to famed airport circuit.

"He has made very good progress," Brown continued. "He was running in the 55-second bracket and there's more to come. For our latest test, we were running Goodyear winter test tires. Those are a hard compound. With newer softer tires, it should be pretty exciting. The Reynard is a good, solid car and the crew is working well with Patrick. They are beginning to understand each other well. We have a good nucleus of guys with a fresh ambitious approach to this season."

And that's music to the ears of team owner Tony Bettenhausen.

"I think everything is falling into place," Bettenhausen said. "We have had good, productive tests so far. Understand that we aren't trying to set track records when we test. Basically, we are trying to get our driver comfortable and we're pleased with his progress."

Source: CART News Service