©1998 SpeedCenter Internet Publishing, Inc.
Test report from Laguna Seca, Jan. 20:
- Attendance:
1. Penske: Unser in '98 Penske Mercedes, with Marlboro paint exceptnose and rear wing.
2. Tasman: Kanaan in '98 Reynard Honda.
3. Newman-Haas: Fittipaldi in '98? Swift Ford.
4. Forsythe: Moore driving '98 Reynard Mercedes.
5. Forsythe: Carpentier driving '97 Reynard Mercedes.
New Swift? We are not sure. All new black paint which looks similar to Michael's '97car, but it had the #11 and Fittipaldi's name on the cockpit.Winglets and the sides of the undertray are unpainted, while most of the car'sbody is glossy black paint with stickers in locations that are in many areasdifferent from the '97 Andretti car. Fittipaldi's helmet is back to the old lemon color, too.
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| Christian Fittipaldi in a black #11 - but is it the new Swift? |
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| Detail comparison of old and current Swift winglets. The changes seem to allow moreexposure of the winglet to the airflow around the car. This modificaiton doesn't have to meanthat we are looking at a new car, though. Virtually all other details we investigated onthese photos seem to be identical to the 1997 car. |
This time the teams testing at Laguna Seca allowed people in the pits.Penkse pit said "no photos"; Newman-Haas and Forsythe pit said"no photos with engine cover off"; Tasman didn't seem to care.
Penske had many engine problems. Did very few laps. The car was in thepaddock for several hours in the middle of the day, but came back outabout 4:30.
Kanaan took a several laps here and there, but wrapped up the day atabout 2:30.
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| Tony Kanaan works out the '98 Reynard for Tasman |
Fittipaldi did a reasonable number of laps, then car in paddock forseveral hours, then came back out later in day.
There is a new paint scheme on '98 Player's car. Both Moore and Carpentier tookmany laps throughout the day. Moore had to be towed in three times.He spun out in corkscrew early in the day, later the engine died and he neededa tow. Then, the third time, something happened and they had to push start him.He came back to pit under own power.
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| Greg Moore collects a cone with his freshly painted '98 Reynard/Mercedes |
Lap times were rather slow (1:10s to 1:11s). The track was simply too cleanfrom major storms during the last two weeks, and I heardsomebody in the Forsythe pit say that the tires weretaking 10-15 laps to get up to temperature, but the drivers seldom tookthat many laps at a time.
The test is scheduled to continue on Januaray 21. We'll try to get more reportsfor you.
