©1997 SpeedCenter Internet Publishing, Inc.
This report just in from testing at Laguna Seca on Tuesday. We were hoping toget a few shots of the new Swift or more of the Penske, but it looks likeTeam Penske is tired of people photographing theirnew front wing. They asked for the paddock to be closed to the public. Ourman at the track did get a look at the new Penske in the tent before they cleared everyoneout of the paddock. This is very unusual at Laguna we are told.
The whole affair It appeared to be a Goodyear tire test, they had 3 transporters full oftires and most cars running were Goodyear shod.
The teams testing Tuesday were Team MCI, Penske, AAR, and Newman Haas.
Max Papis was the hardest working driver there doing about 30 lapsbefore lunch, with Michael Andretti doing maybe 20. Alex Barron and PJ Jones did a handful of laps each. Ribeiro came out for a few laps in the old car. I had to leave beforethey were finished so I don't know if the new car ever made anappearance.
There was no new Swift in sight at the Newman/Haas tent.
Our man did take some lap times, but other than that Andretti appeared to be thefastest car in those sessions, the numbers are too unreliable to quote here
Mario Andretti and Rick Mears were hanging around watching theaction.
It appears as if we may not get the closeups we wanted, but there are2 days remaining. We hope to see some additional cars on the track.
Below one shot that was sent to use allegedly showing a top secret Penske champ car - reviving the roadster image. Somehow we are not willing to attestthis photo's authenticity...
 |
| An artist's rendition of a radical Penske design of unconfirmed authenticity.... |